oj ri
o '-'
Z —r^
L cQ
^ j^rr*
g r^
5^^ ru
r.=-^ — CD
O^ r^
-□
,7, =r^
S r-^
O m
X
^i
This book belongs to
THE CAMPBELL COLLECTION
purchased with the aid of
The MacDonald-Stewart Foundation
and
The Canada Council
Dionui>iAa^ UF
OLD EîiGLlSH
ENGLISH
ï
OTHER VOLUMES OF
MODERN LANGUAGE TEXTS
FRENCH SERIES
Rousseau. DU CONTRAT SOCIAL. Edited , by C, E. Vaughan,
M.A., Litt.D. Limp duxeen, 5^. net ; cloth, 6;. net.
Alfred de Vigny. POÈMES CHOISIS. Edited by Allison Pmks,
M. A. Limp duxeen, 3^. 6d. net j cloth, 45. 6d. net.
Pascal. LETTRES PROVINCIALES. Edited by H. F. Stzwart,
D.D. Paper, 55. net 5 cloth, 6i. net ; édition de luxe, zis. net.
B. Constant. ADOLPHE. Edited by G. Rudler, D. es L. Limp duxeen,
6i. net j cloth, 78. 6d. net j édition de luxe, zis. net.
LE MYSTÈRE D'ADAM. Edited by Paul Studer, M.A., D.Litt.
Paper, 41. 6d. net 5 cloth, 55. 6d. net.
AUCASSIN ET NICOLETE. {Third édition.) Edited by F. W. Bour-
DiLLON, M.A. Limp duxeen, 4_j. 6d. net ; cloth, 5;. 6d. net.
Paul-Louis Couriïr. A SELECTION FROM THE WORKS. Edited
by E. Weekley, M.A. Limp duxeen, 55. net ; cloth, 6i. net.
P. Corneille. LA GALERIE DU PALAIS. Edited by T. B. Rudmose-
Brown, M.A. Limp duxeen, 4J. net ; cloth, 55. net.
Lamartine. POÈMES CHOISIS. Edited by J. L. A. Barbier, L. es L.
Limp duxeen, 3*. dd. net } cloth, 4J. bd. net.
GuiBERT D'.-^ndrenas. CHANSON DE GESTE. Edited by Jessie
Crosland, M.A. Limp duxeen, 45. 6d. net ; cloth, 55. bd. net.
J. F. Regnard. le Légataire universel. Edited by O. H.
Fynes-Clinton, M.A. Limp duxeen, 31. 6d. net ; cloth, 4^. bd. net.
ENGLISH SERIES
Edward Young. CONJECTURES ON ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.
Edited by Edith J. Morley. 45. dd. net.
THE anglo-saxon CHRONICLE, Edited by E. Classen, M.A.,
Ph.D., and Florence E. Harmer, B.A. Limp duxeen, 5^. net ;
cloth, 6s. net.
P.T.O.]
GERMAN SERIES
GoiTHï. TORQUATO TASSO. Edited by J. G. Robertson, M.A.,
Ph.D. Limp duxeen, 45. net ; cloth, 5^. net.
Heine. BUCH DER LIEDER, Edited by John Lees, Ph.D. Paper,
31. (>d. net ; cloth, 45. 6d, net.
F. Grillparzer. WEH' DEM DER Lt^GT. Edited by G. Waterhouse,
Litt.D. Limp duxeen, 3^. Sd. net ; clcth, 43. 6d. net.
ÈPANISH SERIES
Caldiron. EL ALCALDE DE ZALAMEA. Edited by Ida Farnell.
Limp duxeen, 3J. 6d. net ; cloth, 45. dd. net. Text only, \s. 6d. net.
L. F. DE MoRATiN. EL VIEJO Y LA NINA. Edited by L. B. Walton,
B.A. Limp duxeen, 3^. Sd. net ; cloth, 45. dd. net.
LA VIDA DE LAZARILLO DE TORMES. Edited by the Rev. H. J.
Chaytor, m. a. Limp duxeen, 3^. 6d. net ; cloth, 41. f)d. net. Text
only, II. 6d. net.
TRENCH SERIES FOR SCHOOLS
MoLikRE. L'AVARE. Edited by A. T. Baker, Litt.D., Ph.D. Limp
cloth, 2J. Sd. net.
SELECTED LETTERS OF MADAME DE SEVIGNÉ. Edited by
A. T. Baker, Litt.D., Ph.D. Limp cloth, zs. 6d. net.
Corneille. LE CID. Edited by J. Marks, M. A. Limp cloth, zs. 6d. net.
FouRNiER. LE GRAND MEAULNES, Part I. Edited by J. G.
Anderson, B.A. Limp cloth, zs. dd. net.
MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
23 Lime Grove, Oxford Road - MANCHESTER
/ftoOcrn Xauôuaôc XTeïts
LE MYSTERE D'ADAM
Published by the University of Manchester at
THE LNIVERSITY PRESS (H. M. McKfchme, M. A., Secretarry)
23 Lime Grove, Oxford Road, MANCHESTER
M A DE IN ENGLAND
AU rights reserved
flDo&ern Xanguage ZcitB
FRENCH SERIES : MEDIAEVAL SECTION
General Editor — L. E. Kastner
LE MYSTÈRE D'ADAM
AN ANGLO- NORMAN DRAMA OF THE
TWELFTH CENTURY
KDITEI) liY THE LATF.
PAUL STUDER, M.A., D.Lit.
Taylorian Prof essor of the Rtmance Languages in the Uni-ver ùty of Oxford
MANCHESTER
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
1928
First Published 19LS
Eepriuled 1928
PREFACE
For the last half century no account of the drama in the
Middle Ages, whether written from an English or a French
standpoint, has seemed complète without at least a référence
to the Mystère d'Adam. Even critics who hâve under-
estimated its intrinsic merits as a work of art hâve seldom
failed to extol its value as a unique landmark in the évolution
of the stage.
From internai évidence it would appear that the work was
first produced in England about the middle of the twelfth
century, and that the author was descended from one of those
Frenchmen who scttled in this country after the Conquest.
The Mystère d''Adam thus belongs to that common patrimony
of Anglo-Norman literature of which French and English are
equally proud ; and yet it has never had the honour of an
English édition. Students wishing to obtain a first -hand
knowledge of its contents hâve hitherto had to choose
between French éditions, long out of print and almost
unprocurable, and a German édition, more récent, it is true,
but in many respects unsuitable for English readers. The
work of previous editors of the Mystère d'Jdam, especially
that of Dr. Karl Grass, has nevertheless considerably facilitated
my task, while the criticisms on varions points of détail, which
hâve appeared in the numerous periodicals devoted to Romance
philology, hâve likewise proved of great service. I am also
greatly indebted to varions friends, more particularly to Mr.
D. Nichol Smith, Goldsmiths' Reader in English, Mr. C. T.
vin LE MYSTERE D ADAM
Onions, Joint-Editor of the Oxford Dictionary, and Mr. A. T.
Baker, Professer of French Language and Literature in the
University of Sheflield, for the assistance they hâve so gener-
ously rendered. Above ail, my acknowledgments for many
helpful suggestions are due to Professer L. E. Kastner, the
Editor of the présent séries, and also to Professer J. G.
Robertson, the Editor of the corresponding German séries.
P. S.
Oxford, No-vemher 1917.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Préface
Vil
Introduction
xi
Text ......
I
Notes
• 47
BiBLIOGRAPHY
- . 58
Table of Proper Names .
62
Glossary ......
. 63
Index
• 74
INTRODUCTION
I. The Sources of the * Mystère d'Adam'
The serious drama of the Middie Ages grew out of the
Church service.^ The liturgy showed dramatic teiidencies
at a very early period. From the ninth century onward,
thèse tendencies gradually became more marked and culrain-
ated in the eleventh in costly vestmcnts, protracted offices,
magnificent processions. The slender liturgical tcxts of the
primitive Church appeared now wholly inadéquate. In
order to expand them, interpolations were made. Usually
known as ' tropes,' thèse interpolations consisted at first of but
a few words ; those of the Introït at the beginning of Mass
on great festivals, however, often took the form of dialogues.
The earlicst example on record is the Q^uem quaeritis in
sepulchro^ o Christicohe? of the St. Gall MS. It dates from
the end of the ninth or beginning of the tcnth century and
was regularly chanted on Eastcr Day. This trope soon be-
came widely known. By the end of the tenth century it
had grown into an elaborate ceremony of a highly dramatic
character, the détails of which are set forth in the Concordia
Regularis drawn up by Ethehvold, bishop of Winchester,
during the reign of Edgar (959-75)."'^
' In the rbllowing pages unly the merest sketch of the clevelopment of
the religious drama has been attemptecJ. For a more detailed study the
reader is referred to the works mentioned in the ' Bibliography.'
■•^ The document is printed almost in fuU in Appendix O of E. K.
xi
Xll LE An STtRE D ADAM
Similar interpolations found thcir way into thc ccremonial
of other Church festivals, particularly those connected with
Christmas. A Quem quacritis in praesepe, pastores^ diàte ? \s2.'î>
formed on the mode! of the Easter trope, and is commonly
met with in raissals of the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
such as those of St. Gall, Limoges, and St. Magloire.
At first this kind of trope was mcrely an alternating chant,
one half of the choir asking the questions and the other
giving the answers. But very soon an attempt to place it
in a more elaborate setting induccd the clergy to display
within the prccincts of the church, the manger, Joseph and
Mary, sometimes even the ox and the ass. The shephcrds
were impersonated, then the Magi, fînally Herod himself.
In course of time ail the éléments of a fully developed
Nativity play had thus been introduced.
But the tropes referred to above were not the only means
adopted by the mediaeval Church to lengthen services and
add to their attractiveness. The lessons for the great
festivals provided an excellent opportunity for introducing
into thc liturgy apocryphal texts from the most varied
sources. Thèse texts, once incorporated, became in turn
susceptible of extension. An illustration of this process is
afForded by the pseudo- Augustinian ^ermo contra Judeos^
Paganos et Arianos de Symbolo^ probably vvritten in the sixth
century, but ascribed throughout the Middle Ages to St.
Augustine. A portion of this ' Sermon ' ^ was used in many
churches as a lesson for some part or other of the Christmas
services ; eithcr on Christmas Day itself, as at Arles (sixth
lesson at Matins), or on Christmas Eve, as at Rome (fourth
lesson at Matins).- In England it appears generally to hâve
been read on the fourth Sunday in Advent. In both the
Chnmbers, T/a Mediaet-jl Stage, Oxtonl, 1903, vol. ii. Sce also W. H.
Frère, The fViuchester Troper (Henry Bradshaw Society), London, 1894.
^ Quoterl in tull by M. Sepet, ] ,% Prcpketa, Ai, Christ. Paris. 1878,
pp. 3-8.
-' Cf. Chambers, ii. p. 52.
INTRODUCTION Xlll
Sarum breviary and that of York, it furnishcs the lessons for
second Nocturn.i
A detailed analysis of the contents, together with several
quotations from the original, is given in the notes to the
présent édition. Chambers has very aptly described the
gênerai character of the ' Sermon ' in the following terms :
*The passage chosen is in a highly rhetorical vein. Vos^
inquam^ convenio^ O 'Judei^ cries the preacher, and calls upon
the Jews to bear witness eut of the mouths of their own
prophets to the Christ. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Moses,
David, Habakkuk, Simeon, Zachariah and Elizabeth, John
the Baptist — each in turn is bidden to speak, and each
testimony is triumphantly quoted. Then : Ecce^ convertimur
ad gentes. Virgil — poeta facundissimus — is pressed into the
service, for the famous line of his fourth eclogue : "iam
nova progenies caelo demittitur alto" ; Nebuchadnezzar, who
saw four walking in the furnace, and finally the Erythraean
Sibyl, whose acrostic verses on the " Signs of Judgment"
first appear in the writings of Eusebius.' ^
This lesson contained the scénario of a fine drania, and
the clerk entrusted with the task of reading it no doubt
emphasized its dramatic character by modulating his voicc,
as he gave the answers of the various prophets. As Sepet^
suggests, the * lectio ' may hâve been divided among several
readers, each of whom impersonated one of the prophets.
The participation of several ' actors ' soon became an accom-
plished fact. The liturgical play of St. Martial of Limoges *
1 I owe this information to the Rev. H. A. Wilson of MagHalen Collège.
It might be added that in the Sarum breviary (éd. Procter and Wordsworth)
the three lessons of the second Nocturn reproduce the whole Sermon in
exactly the form printed by Sepet ; whereas the York breviary (Surtees
Society, vol. Ixxi.) gives an abridged form only, ending after the prophecy of
David, which is followed by Omelia heat'i Gregorii pape.
2 Chambers, ii. pp. 52-53 ; sce also note to line 161.
' Prophètes^ p. lo.
* Cf. Monmerqué et Michel, Théâtre frança'n au moyen âge, Paris, 1842,
pp. 6-9.
XIV LE MYSTERE D ADAM
follows the * Sermon ' closely, but converts it wholly into a
dramatic dialogue. In addition it exhibits two important
altérations The * Sermon,* with the exception of the pro-
phecy of the Sibyl, was in prose; the St. Martial version, on
the other hand, is metrical throughout. Secondly, the list of
the prophets is slightly altered. Not only is the order
différent, but Zachariah is suppressed and Israël added.
After ail there was no cogent reason why the choice of
characters should be restricted to those mentioncd in the
' Sermon.' Many prophets of the Old Testament had as
good a right to appear as witnesses of Christ, as Nebuchad-
nezzar, or Virgil, or the Sibyl. Balaam, it seems, was among
the fîrst to be introduced, and was soon destined to éclipse
some of his seniors. But then, Balaam had a great advantage
over his rivais — he was mounted on an ass, a conspicuous
position, especially within the walls of a church. It should,
however, be borne in mind that such grotesque sights had
long been the inévitable accompaniment of the Feast of
Pools. It is not improbable, as Chambers surraises, that the
introduction of Balaam and his ass was a concession made
to the popular craze for boisterous amusements, or an
attempt on the part of the Church to turn the ribaldry of
the long-established mediaeval Saturnalia to purposes of
édification. Balaam closes the procession of Prophets in the
Laon Drama,^ where he is the only addition to the original
' cast.' At Rouen, on the other hand, we find him in the
midst of a large company of new-comers. There are no
fewer than twenty-seven prophets, but Balaam is the chief,
and in his honour the whole performance was popularly
styled Festum Asinorum?
The pseudo-Augustinian Sermon could be still more
expanded. Israël (Jacob) headed the procession in the St.
^ Chambers, ii. p. 54.
^ Rouen MS. Y 110, fourteenth century, publishcd by A. Gasté, La
Dramei liturgiques de la cathédrale de Rouen, Evreux, 1893, p. 4. A useful
summary will be found in Sepet, Prophètes, pp. 27-40.
INTRODUCTION XV
Martial text ; but it was possible to go further back and
introduce Abraham, whose ofFering of Isaac foreshadowed
the atoning sacrifice of Christ, or Abel, the just man who
died by the hand of the unjust ; above ail, Adam, who was
particularly suited to usher in the procession of Prophets, for
it was his fall that rendered the Rédemption necessary.
Not only was the number of characters enlarged, but
changes of another kind also took place. It was soon
realized that the dramatic efFect might be greatly enhanced
if, instead of simply reciting his prophecy, one or other of
the prophets was allowed to act it. This appears to hâve
been tried first with Balaam. Already in the Laon text an
angel appears on the scène and prevents the ass advancing,
while the rider endeavours in vain to urge on his beast.
More elaborate still is the dramatization of Nebuchadnezzar's
story in the Festum Asinorum of Rouen. A furnace from
which smoke and fire issue is constructed in the nave of
the church. Nebuchadnezzar sits on his throne, surrounded
by soldiers and guards. Three Hebrews are cast into the
furnace, where a fourth person is seen with thera. As the
fire does not consume them, they are brought forth again,
Nebuchadnezzar and his courtiers being deeply moved at
the sight of the miracle.
Most of the prophecies were amenable to similar treat-
ment, and as their proportions grew, they might become
independent plays. Some of thèse survive, though often
in a later form. Early examples are two dramas of Dayiiel,
one of them the work of the Englishman Hilarius,^ and
perhaps also Jacob and Esau of the Towneley cycle, con-
sidered by ten Brink 2 as the oldest drama written entirely
in English. It is not improbable that even plays (or
épisodes in plays) like Abraham and Isaac^ Isaac and
1 J. J. Champollion-Figeac, //;7ar« njenut et ludi, Paris, 1838, pp. 43-60.
2 Cf. Camb. Hist. cfEngl. Lit. v. p. 39.
3 A. W. Pollar<l, English Miracle - Plays, 4th éd., Oxford, 1904,
Appendix IV.
XVI LE MYSTERE D ADAM
Rebecca^ Co7ivivium Herodis (which suggests the story of John
the Baptist),- Octavian and the Sïhyl,'^ etc., may havc been re-
modelled on early enlargemcnts of the prophecies. But when
Adam and Abel had once secured a place among the prophets,
fevv stories lent themselves to dramatic treatment better than
theirs.
Another set of characters, drawn from the same source as
Balaam's ass, from popular revels and merry-makings, was
yet to join the 'procession.' Thèse were the devils. They
malce their first appearance on the religious stage in the
Sponsus of Limoges {Les Vierges sages et les Vierges folles).^
At the end of the play, when the foolish virgins return from
a fruitless search for oil, they find that during their absence
the bridegroom has arrived and welcomed home their wiser
companions. As they stand clamouring at the gâte, modo
accipiant eas daemones et praecipitentur in infernum, say the
concluding stage-directions. Thèse ' daemones ' undoubtedly
wore an appropriate costume, although the MS. is silent on
this point. Soon we shall find them parading the stage in
grotesque disguise, sallying forth among the spectators,
arousing terror, but aiso provoking merriment. They supply
an intermittent interlude which marks ofF the various
épisodes of the main play, and relieve by their capers and
grimaces the tedium of a long-drawn-out religious rite. Hell
has now becorae the necessary counterpart of Paradise, and
the clashing of kettles and cauldrons is heard in answer to
the songs of angelic choirs. * In the growth of thèse devil
scènes,' says Chambers, 'may we not trace the influence of those
masked and blackened démon figures who from ail time had
bcen a dear scandai of the Kalends and the Feast of Pools ? ' ^
^ Isuac and Rebecca, a fragmentary play from Kloster Vorau in Styria
(cf. W. Creizenach, Geuhichte des r.eueren Dramas, Halle, 1893, i. p. 74).
^ Cf. Chambers, ii. p. 60.
^ Octavian and the Sityl, an épisode in the Chester plays.
* Cf. E. Koschwitz, Les plus anciens monuments de la langue française^
8th éd., Leipzig, 191 3, pp. 48-53.
' Chambers, ii. p. 9 i.
INTRODUCTION XVll
Possibly the actors were the same in both cases. Petit de
Julleville^ has shown that instances are on record of pro-
fessional minstrels or low comedians joining forces with their
more serions confrères and taking part in the performance of
religions plays.
The author of the Mystère d'' Adam may be credited with
more than average inventiveness, but it is obvions that some
dramatic adaptation of the ' Sermon ' was known to him.
To what extent he modified it, is difficult to establish.
Whether he is responsible for the introduction of Adam
and Abel into the * procession,' or whether he found them
there already, cannot be finally settled until fresh évidence
is brought to light. There seems, however, little doubt that
he himself contributed the dramatization of their stories.
To Write thèse two scènes, the author naturally drew upon
Gefiesis, and in the main followed it closely. If hère and
there he departed from the scriptural account, crcating, for
example, Eve before Adam was installed in Paradise, he did
so in order to mcet certain stage requirements or to heighten
the gênerai efFect of the play.
He prefaced the first scène with a lesson, for the Sunday
of Septuagesima, which ofFered a most suitable text, and
relegated to the third act the original lesson from the pseudo-
Augustinian Sermon. This slight dérangement, however,
hardly entitles us to hold with Sepet that our author knew
three distinct plays, one of Adam and Eve, one of Abel and
Gain, and a third of the prophets proper, and that his chief
merit lay in bringing them together. Why the independent
existence of thèse three plays should be assumed, is by no
means obvions. If at Laon the prophecy of Balaam could
develop into a dr»matic scène, if at Rouen those of Balaam
and Nebuchadnezzar both acquired elaborate proportions,
why deny that the stories of Adam and Abel could similarly
be dramatized, while the rest of the ' procession ' retained
its narrative character ? The fact that Adam and Eve are
* Histoire du Théâtre en Franct: au nvjyen âge^ Paris, i88o, ii. p. 412.
Xviii LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
removed from the stage befbre Abel and Cain appear, and
that after the murder the brothers likewise are carried oft*
together, makes manifest their rôle of prophets, who in
succession appear before the public, recite their prophecies,
and take their departure. The case of Isaiah, with whom
a Jew opens a discussion, shows in embryo the process which
the poet, for reasons of his own, chose to apply more system-
atically to the épisodes of Adam and of Abel.
Of the characters originally found in the Sermon he has
retained Moses, David, Daniel, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Isaiah,
Ncbuchadnezzar, and probably the Sibyl. The suppression
of Zachariah, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Virgil, and
the addition of Aaron, Solomon, and Balaam, had probably
taken place before the author's time. Like some of the
great dramatic writers of a later date, he was satisfied to
take a well-worn plot, finding ample scope for his imagina-
tion and superior powers in the subtle analysis of characters,
the skilful handling of the dialogue, the introduction hère
and there of little traits revealing a sure psychological
instinct or a fine artistic touch. If \ve read the biblical
account of the Fall, and then turn to the Mystère d^Adam,
we shall realize how much more human the characters hâve
grown. Adam, upright in principle, but somewhat careless
and inconsistent, above ail timid and the reverse of heroic,
discerns right and wrong readily enough when tempted by
Satan, but moral courage forsakes him as soon as he succumbs
to the charms of Eve. Aùer the Fall he is paltry to a degree,
blâmes every one but himself, and never tires of heaping
reproaches upon his fair seducer. How much more attractive
is Eve, the créature of impulse, easily conquered by adroit
flattcry. She has an inordinate craving for pleasures, glitter
and pomp, and willingly imperils her soûl for the ecstatic
enjoyment of the forbidden fruit. If she rushes into sin
more wantonly than Adam, she is more dignified in meeting
her doom. Her thoughts are ail for him whom she dragged
down with her into miscry, and for the future générations
INTRODUCTION XIX
upon whom she has brought God's wrath. But hope springs
eternal in her breast, and with the spirit of faith she apprehends
in the dim future the scherae of salvation and the rédemption
of mankind. The portrait of Satan, the arch-flatterer, is also
drawn with a masterly hand. Note, for instance, how clever
and versatile he is ; how he varies his arguments, appealing
in turn to ail the passions of his victims, until at last he
discovers the weak spot and breaks down their résistance.
The same skilful characterization distinguishes also the
second act. The author brings out in a forcible manner
the contrast between Abel, the good man, candid, unsus-
pecting, somewhat prone to catechizing, and Gain, the cunning
farmer with an eye to the main chance, hard-working indeed,
but not above cheating God of His due. As soon as Gain
opens his mouth, his words reveal the selfishness of his nature,
while the ugly sneer that lurks about his lips indicates from
the first the coarse and brutal instincts that sway his passions.
If the portrait of Eve is more finished in the détail, that of
Gain lacks no essential trait ; both are excellent examples
of character study, an art which was seldom practised by
mediaeval dramatists.
II. The Place of the ' MvsTèRE d'Adam' in the
Evolution of the Religious Drama
Before we can attempt to assign to the Mystère d^ Adajn its
proper place in the history of the religious drama, one
important point must be settled. The text of the Tours
MS. is incomplète. It breaks off in the midst of the speech
of Nebuchadnezzar. Either deliberately or through an over-
sight, a copyist has inscrted immediately after it the Dit des
quinze signes du jugement^ which has been shown to belong to
another work and is written in a différent dialect (see p. xxxi
{a)). The question, therefore, which naturally suggests itself
is, How did the drama end in the original version ? We hâve
alreadv seen how closely the Mystère d'Adam is rclated to the
XX LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
pseudo-Augustinian Sermon, the Prophets of Saint Martial,
and the Festum Asinorum of Rouen. In ail thèse Nebuchad-
nezzar is iramediately followed by the Sibyl, who closes the
procession with an account of the Second Corning of Christ.
That the Mystère d' Adam had a similar conclusion is there-
fore most likely. Perhaps after a short Latin quotation
borrowed from the * Sermon,' the Sibyl may hâve paraphrased
in French such words as those found in the Saint Martial
text, viz. :
ludicii signum : tellus sudore madescet j
E celo rex adveniet per secla futurus,
Scilicet in carne presens ut judicet orbem, etc.^
Possibly this prophecy of the Second Coming of the Saviour
was preceded by an announcement of His first Advent — such
a combination exists in the Nativity play of Munich- — and
the end of the performance was doubtless marked by some
Latin hymn of praise, Te Deum or Beîiedicamus^ sung by the
choir and spectators. The words which close the Saint
Martial drama would hâve been particularly appropriate :
Letabundi jubilemus ;
Accurate celebremus
Christi natalitia.
Summa letitia
Cum gratia produxit,
Gratanter mentibus hdclibuâ iniuxit.^
As Grass suggcsts,^ \ve should also expect further stage-
directions for the concluding scène, especially regarding the
behaviour of the devils, after they hâve carried off the last
prophet.
One of the copyi:>ts, to whom the Dit des quinze signes du
jugement was vvell known, may hâve substituted it for the
simpler, and certainly much shorter prophecy of the original,
thinking no doubt that hc was thereby euhancing the effect
' Munmcrqué et Miche!, Théâtre, p. 9.
'^ Cf. Sepet, Prophltes, p. 150. ' Monmerqué et Michel, loc. cit.
"• Dai AJuntssf>itI, 2nd eu., Halle, 1907, p. xx.
INTRODUCTION XXI
of the closing scène. Luckily, however, he only suppressed
a vcry small portion of the original, probahly not a hundred
lines in ail. Such, at ail events, is the conclusion at which
most scholars hâve arrivcd. Some, however, lilce Ward,i
still hold that we hâve in the Mystère d'' Adam but a small
fragment, say, the prologue, to a great Nativity-play, or even
the opening scènes of a * dramatic représentation of the entire
scriptural story, after the manner of the French or English
collective Mysteries of later date.' But a comparison of our
text with those of Saint Martial and Rouen, the absence of
any prologue foreshadowing the larger proportions of the
drama, the early date at which it was written, and, above
ail, the liturgical character of the play, make it impossible to
accept this view.
The Mystère d"* Adam is one of the oldest and best- examples
of the transitional or serai -liturgical drama. The comic
élément introduced with Balaam's ass and the devil scènes
was the first solvent which tended to loosen the tie with
the Church ceremony. At Rouen the Procession of the
Prophets (or Festum Asinorum)^ though still a holy office,
became optional and could be omitted at the discrétion of
the clergy. In the Mystère d^ Adam the liturgical character
remains, clergy and choir controlling, so to speak, the whole
performance ; but the fact that one of the lessons is from
Septuagesima and the other from Advent, while two of the
responsoria {6g and 84) belong to the Monday after Septua-
gesima, shows that it ceased to be an intégral part of a
particular Church service, and could probably be performed
at any time during the Christmas and New Year festivities.
In the hands of laymen the liturgical setting, which had
aiready lost some of its meaning and appropriateness, was
soon to become the merest survival. Yet it never disappeared
altogether, but lingered on as long as Miracle -plays and
Mysteries continued to be produced.
The tropes and the first dramas which grew out of them
^ Cumb. Hist. Engl. Lit. v. p. 1 1 .
XXii LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
were entirely in Latin, the language of the Church. But
the practice of introducing hère and there snatches in the
vernacular began very early. In the Sponsus of Limoges, to
which référence was made above (p. xvi), the Latin text is
interspersed with short metrical passages in what appears to
be a Provençal dialect.^ The plays usually ascribed to
Hilarius, e.g, Suscitatio Lazari and Ludus super iconia Sancti
Nicolaiy^ hâve a similar bilingual character, but the dialect in
this case is Northern French. The Mystère d^ Adam is the
oldest extant play written almost wholly in the vernacular.
The use of Latin is restricted to lessons and chants, and a few
quotations from the breviary ; but Latin is also employed in
the stage-directions. From this we may infer that the actors,
at ail events the majority of them, were members of the clergy,
although it is probable that Satan and his satellites were
recruited among professional minstrels (see above, p. xvii).
When laymen began to share in the performance of religious
plays, Latin was discarded altogether. Thus we find in the
first half of the thirteenth century a Resurrection-play written
throughout, didascalia as well as dialogue, in the Anglo-
Norman dialect.^ The vernacular was now firmly installed
in the religious drama, and although Latin plays continued
to be performed as part of certain Church cérémonies, they
ceased to havc any effect on the évolution of the drama
proper.
The parting of the ways was reached just before the
appearance of the Mystère d"* Adam^ and the latter, in spite
of its many ties with the liturgy, marked the first step in the
direction of complète secularization. This is further illus-
1 The dialect of the Sponsui has also been claimed for Northern France.
See Remania, viii., 1879, p. 465.
2 Ed. ChampoUion-Figeac, pp. 24-39. A. W. PoUard [Englhh Miracle-
Plays, Appendix il) reproduces the second play.
' The names of characters, however, are still given in Latin, and Latin
stage-directions are found in much later plays, in fact in almost ail the
English cycles, except the Digby Mysteries and the Coventry Corpus Christi
Plays.
INTRODUCTION XXlll
trated by the detailed stage-directions which the play contains.
In the earliest liturgical dramas scenic décoration was reduced
to a minimum. The altar sufficed to represent the sepulchre,
and the clergy found among their vestments adéquate costumes
to impersonate prophets, angels, or even holy women. The
Christmas manger, too, could be accommodated in the choir.
But as the craving for spectacular display increased, it was
found necessary to move to more commodious quarters. The
Prophets who, in the Saint Martial drama, recited their
prophecies from the altar steps,^ in the Festum Asinorum of
Rouen occupied the whole of the nave, so that worshippers
and spectators had, perforce, to be crowded into the aisles.
The Rouen spectacle must hâve taxed to the utmost the
adaptability of the average church to theatrical performances,
and pious soûls, even in those tolérant days, must hâve been
shocked at the rowdiness and profanation which wcre
inséparable from such displays.2 When still more elaborate
scenery was required, it became physically impossible to
accommodate actors and spectators in any but the largest
churches. In a cathedral there might still be found sufficient
room for the performance of the drama of Daniel^ with its
five localities — the thronc of Balthasar, the seat of the Magi,
the house of Daniel, the ' locus * of Habakkukj and the lions'
den (lacus leonum). But the time was now ripe for a further
change. The drama was transferred from the nave to the
open space in front of the porch. There was, as yet, no
intention to sever every connexion with the Church. It
might still serve as, if nothing more, an admirable tiring-
house. It was put to such use in the Mystère d'Adam^
which, as far as we hâve any certain record, was the first
religious drama of the Middle Ages to be performed out of
^ ' Le moine se levait, s'avançait au milieu du chœur et prophétisait '
(Sepet, Prophètes, p. 25).
2 The ass, it should be noted, was an aitihcial one and concealed a youth
who gave the answers to the prophet (Creizenach, i. p. 69).
3 ChampoUion-Figeac, Hilarii -versus et ludi, pp. 43-60 ; aUo Sepet,
Prophètes, p. 67.
XXIV LE MYSTERE D ADAM
doors. Fortunately, too, the Latin didascalia, which arc
interspersed in the tcxt, are so explicit that, with their help,
M. Sepet has been able to reconstruct the whole scène.
His description is so clear and accurate that I quote it at
some length : ^
En face de nous est une église. La grande porte en est ouverte.
Dans l'espace libre qui s'étend de cette porte à l'entrée de la nef,
voici le chœur ecclésiastitiue ... composé de ministres du culte:
prêtres, chapelains, chantres, assistants, enfants de chœur, vêtus de
leurs habits sacerdotaux, et divisé selon l'usage en deux demi-chœurs.
Ce personnage collectif doit servir à deux fins dans la représentation
à laquelle vous êtes conviés. D'une part, il l'embellira par ses
chants, il y remplira un rôle non pas identique, mais analogue à
celui du chœur antique dans la tragédie grecque ; d'autre part, il
y figurera ... les milices célestes, le chœur des anges, comme l'église
où sa voix s'élève représente le ciel.
Sous le portail, devant la grande porte, on a dressé une petite
chaire, un amhon. Dans cette chaire, devant un grand livre ouvert,
voici, également en habits sacerdotaux, le lecteur, à la fois chef du
chœur et directeur du jeu. C'est, s'il vous plaît, l'auteur, ou pour
le moins l'arrangeur du drame ... Devant la chaire du lecteur et
dominé par elle, à peu près au m.ilieu du porche, un banc ou une
estrade basse a été dressée. C'est là qu'au troisième acte de notre
drame, les prophètes du Christ viendront successivement s'asseoir
pour annoncer la délivrance d'x^dam par la naissance du Sauveur.
Mais sur un autre banc, placé en travers du porche, à gauche du
lecteur et du banc des prophètes, quels sont ces personnages à
longues barbes, à la mine farouche tout ensemble et railleuse ? Ce
sont les représentants de la Synagogue, des acteurs figurant le conseil
des Juifs ...
A la droite de l'église, à la gauche des spectateurs, sur un
échafaud très élevé, je vous présente le paradis terrestre, auquel on
parvient par plusieurs escaliers en bois, assez semblables à des
échelles fixes. L'un de ces escaliers aboutit sous le porche de
l'église, les autres sur la place du parvis, où le peuple est groupé.
La plateforme de l'échafaud, qui offre un espace assez vaste, est
environnée de courtines et de tentures de soie, disposée de telle
^ M. Sepet, Le Drame chrétien au m-jycn âge, Paris. 1878, pp. 121-28.
INTRODUCTION XXV
façon que les personnages, quand ils se trouveront dans le paradis,
ne soient vus qu'à partir des épaules. Ces tentures vous laissent
pourtant apercevoir divers arbres chargés de feuillages, de fleurs et
de fruits. En un mot, le paradis présente, tant bien que mal,
l'aspect d'un délicieux jardin. Au milieu s'élève l'arbre de la
science, qui domine tous les autres. A cet arbre est adapté un
truc fort ingénieux, au moyen duquel on doit, au bon moment,
voir s'enrouler autour du tronc un serpent mécanique. Ce truc
doit être mis en mouvement par un comparse que dissimulent les
courtines dont la plateforme est environnée...
De l'autre côté du parvis, c'est-à-dire à gauche de l'église, à la
droite des spectateurs, on a figuré l'enfer qui, occupant sur la place
une position très avancée, forme avec le porche une espèce d'angle
plus ou moins droit. Cet enfer est tout bonnement une tour carrée,
à plateforme et à créneaux, ayant une fenêtre grillée et, en guise de
porte, une énorme gueule de dragon qui s'ouvre et se ferme à
volonté. Il est garni de chaudières et de marmites. Par la fenêtre
vous pouvez voir les démons, vêtus de peaux de bêtes, masqués de
masques hideux, avec la queue et les cornes traditionnelles. A
défaut des pièces d'artillerie, des arquebuses et autres admirables
engins dont ils seront si largement pourv^us trois siècles plus tard,
du moins ont-ils au douzième siècle une assez grande quantité
d'étoupes et autres combustibles, pour faire vomir, quand il le
faudra, à la gueule de dragon des torrents de flammes et de fumée.
Toute la partie de la place embrassée dans Pangle que font la
ligne plus ou moins horizontale, comprenant le paradis terrestre et
l'église, et la ligne verticale créée par la saillie de l'enfer, forme ce
que plus tard on appellera le parloir, ce que nous appellerions le
plancher de la scène. Ce plancher est ici tout bonnement le sol
même de la place. Pour la circonstance, ce sol a été surhaussé,
relevé en terrasse, de façon que les acteurs soient plus en vue. On
y a disposé, à quelque distance l'une de l'autre, deux grandes pierres
figurant deux autels, et devant servir au double sacrifice d'Abel et
de Caïn. On y a disposé deux ou trois sièges, ou bas d'échafauds.
On y a enfin jeté, à un endroit quelconque, plusieurs pelletées de
terre labourable, afin de figurer le champ que doivent cultiver
Adam et Eve, puis leurs enfants.
New that the drama had been transferred into the open,
it was no longer necessary to restrict the size of the stage.
XXVI LE MYSTERE D ADAM
The ground between hell and paradise could accommodate
an aimost unlimited number of ' mansiones ' and ' loci.' If the
space before the church door was insufficient, the cemeter)-
or the market-place could be utilized. For the convenience
of the increasing number of spectators large wooden stands
vvere erected or — as appears to hâve been the case in Corn-
wall — even permanent amphithéâtres were sometimes con-
structed. As a rule, temporary structures were preferred,
and a miniature in the manuscript of Valencienncs ^ gives
an idea of the imposing dimensions which they finally
attained. From the thirteenth century onvvard, stages on
a similar pattern were no doubt fitted up from time to time
in various cities, both in England and on the Continent.
In England, however, the performance of reJigious dramas
came to be intimately connected with the feast of Corpus
Christi (the Thursday after Trinity Sunday). An office was
compiled for this Church festival by St. Thomas Aquinas, and
the leading ceremony consisted of a great procession in which
the host, escorted by local dignitaries, religious bodies and
guilds, was borne through the streets and displayed succes-
sively at out-of-door stations. When the plays were trans-
ferred to Corpus Christi Day, they became more or less
attached to this procession and finally were merged in the
latter. The * domus/ * loci,' or ' sedes ' were set upon wheels,
and known as * pageants,' and the performance was repeated
at the various stations made by the host.^ But before such
elaborate stages, whether fixed or movable, became necessary,
the religious drama had to undergo a further transformation.
Obviously the Mystère (T Adam did not mark the ultimate
limits to which the process of expansion might be carried.
In the Bible story, was not the création of man preceded by
the création of the heavenly hosts, and the fall of Lucifer
^ The miniature has been reproduced in facsimile, by Petit de JuUeville,
Histoire de lu litt.fr. tome ii, p. 416, and Suchier and Birch-Hirschfeld,
Geichichte der franzZsiichen Literatur, Leipzig, 1900, p. 286.
' Chambers, ii. pp. 95-96 ; A. W. Pollard, English Miraclc-PIays, p. xxv.
INTRODUCTION XXVll
and his angels ? The dramatization of thèse two épisodes
provided an admirable introduction to the play, and at the
same time explained to the public the nature and origin of
those démons whose pranks and gambols created such a
welcome diversion. A performance on those lines appears to
hâve been given at Regensburg as early as 1194.^ Unfortu-
nately the text has not corne down to us. On the other
hand, the Old Testament, with ail the legends and apocrypha
which gathered round it, ofFered an almost inexhaustible
raine from which dramatists continued to draw as late as the
sixteenth century. Le Mistére du Fiel Testament^ first printed
in 1542,^ was the logical outcome of this practice. Beginning
with the création of angels and ending with the prophecies
of the Sibyls (now twelve in number), it embraces, in some
49,000 odd lines, the chief épisodes of the Old Testament.
According to J. de Rothschild, the performance of this
gigantic work was spread over something like twenty-five
days.'
But long before this process of expansion reached the
imposing dimensions found in the Mistére du Fiel Testa-
ment^ another tendency had set in, which was destined still
further to modify the character of the religious drama,
namely, a tendency to group together plays which hitherto
had been independent. In the thirteenth century, or
perhaps earlier, a Nativity- play was combined with a
modified version of the * Prophets,* the latter serving as
a kind of introduction to the former."* Subsequently, such
a combination appears to hâve become the rule, and we
find it again in the Rouen Nativity.^ In this play the
1 Cf. Creizenach, i. p. 70 ; also Chambers, ii. p. 71.
2 Re-edited by J. de Rothschild {Soc. des anc. textes fr.)^ vol i., 1878,
3 Op. cit. p. XV,
* This (Latin) play was in the repertory of the ' scholares vagantes ' from
Bcncdictbeuern in Bavaria ; the MS. is now in Munich (cf. Creizenach,
i. pp. 96-99 ; Chambers, ii. p. 72 j and Sepet, Prophètes^ pp. 148-64).
° The MS. is dated 1474, but the text appears to be older (Sepet, Prophètes,
p. 163).
XXVm LE MYSTERE D ADAM
épisode of thc Prophcts was entirely recast. The opening
scène shows Adam, Eve, Abraham, and Jacob already re-
moved to Limbo, and there engaged in earnest conversation
with Helia, the father of St. Joseph, who announces to them
the approaching Advcnt of Christ. In France this modified
form was usually retained, even when the Christmas plays
were finally merged in those of Easter, and the Passion of our
Lord had become the central épisode of the Christian drama.
Sometimes, however, as in the famous Passion of Arnoul
Greban, the scènes of the Création, the Fall, and the Murder
of Abel were included in a kind of lengthy prologue which
preceded the performance proper, whilst the latter opened
in Limbo, where Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and David had
an opportunity to recite their prophecies.
In England the religions drama developed on almost
similar lines. It became, even more than in France, a
popular form of entertainment. The great cycles which
hâve come down to us, those of Chester, York, Wakefield,
and the Ludus Coventriae^ began with the Création and ended
with the Last Judgment, bringing into spécial prominence, like
the French * mystères,' the lifc and passion of Christ. There
was, however, an cssential différence between them. Thèse
' miracles,' as they were commonly called, were not pro-
duced by ' confréries,' especially formed for the purpose, but
in most cases by the corporations of large boroughs, each
craft or trade-guild undertaking to act one or more scènes,
which were in effect separate plays and remained more or
less independent of one another. They were touched up,
cxpanded, embellished (not always, it is true, to their advan-
tage) ; but the whole drama never appears to hâve been
completely recast, like the Mystères de la passion of Mercadé,
Greban, or Jean Michel. 'Each cycle as it has come down
to us must be rcgarded rather as an organic growth than
as the work of a single author,'^
As Chambcrs has pointed out, ' ihe four northerly cycles
' PoUard, Er.gliih Mirade-Plajs, p. xxx.
INTRODUCTION XXIX
hâve a kernel of common matter, which corresponds very
closely with just that dramatic stufF which was handled in the
liturgical and the earliest vernacular dramas. It includes the
Fall of Lucifer, the Création, Adam and Eve, Gain and
Abel.'^ Equally invariable is something in the way of a
Prophetae. But at York this is thrown into narrative instead
of dramatic form (Play xii) ; and at Chcster the typical
défile of prophets is split up into sections, some of the
prophets predicting the Nativity (Play v), others the Corning
of Antichrist (Play xxii), while Octavian and the Sibyl con-
stitute a separate épisode (Play vi).
Thus, as long as religious dramas continued to be played,
the Processus Prophetarum^ in one form or another, maintained
its position on the stage. It is no small distinction to hâve
shown the dramatic cfFects that could be obtained from an
apocryphal lesson and to hâve provided a plan which, during
four consécutive centuries, countless playwrights vvere content
to retain. But this does not constitute the sole or, indeed,
the chief merit of the Mystère d^ Adam. As a precious link
bctween the liturgical play, written in Latin and performcd
in the Church on the one hand, and the fully secularized
drama with lay actors and elaborate stages on the other, its
importance cannot bc over-cstimatcd. More than this, its
qualities are intrinsic as well as relative. As a work of art
it bears comparison with the best dramatic productions of
the Middle Ages.
IIL Manuscript and EniTioNs
The Mystère d^Jdam has come down to us in a single
manuscript, now in the Library of the City oï Tours (No.
927 in Dorange's Catalogue),^ dcscribcd by Luzarche, the
first editor, as follows :
^ Chambers, ii. p. 125.
- A. J. Dorange, Catalogue dacriprij et raisonné des MSS. de la Bib/. de
TourSf Tours, 1875, p. 409.
XXX LE MYSTERE D ADAM
Le manuscrit clans lequel est renfermé le drame d'Adam, est
un in-octavo de forme carrée, écrit sur un papier de coton, probable-
ment d'origine orientale. La contexture de ce papier, dont les
spécimens doivent être très rares, même dans les plus riches biblio-
thèques, mérite toute notre attention. Quoique composé de matières
molles et spongieuses, il a conservé une grande consistance et une
remarquable uniformité d'épaisseur, et a reçu sur ses deux faces une
préparation particulière qui lui donne presque le poli du parchemin,
et le rend très propre à recevoir l'écriture. Il est évident que
l'ouvrier en le fabriquant, s'était proposé l'imitation de la peau de
vélin, qui était généralement en usage dans l'Occident à cette
époque.*
It consists of 229 leaves, measuring 145 x 105 millimètres,
and was probably written in the South of France, by the same
hand throughout, net earlier than the middle of the thirteenth
century. Such, at ail events, is the opinion of L. Delisle^
and of Dorange, the author of the catalogue of Tours. On
the other hand, V. Luzarche, and after him W. Foerster,
expressed his conviction that the volume was written in two
sections by différent hands, the first 46 leaves (including
Adam) dating from the second half of the twelfth century,
and the remaining portion from the beginning of the
thirteenth.3
The manuscript contains a miscellaneous collection of
texts, some of which are unmistakably of Anglo-Norman
origin, while the last item is in a Provençal dialect. They
hâve been described in détail on various occasions, and are
as follows :
{a) Folio I : a liturgical drama of the Résurrection, in
Latin, with musical notes, published by V. Luzarche, Ofice
de Pâques ou de la Résurrection^ Tours, 1856, and also by de
Coussemaker, Drames liturgiques du moyen âge. Rennes, 1860,
pp. 37-48.
^ V. Luzarche, ^'îdam^ drame anglo-normand. Tours, 1854, pp. v-vi.
2 Romania, il., 1873, p. 95.
^ Cf. V. Luzarche, Adam, pp. vii f. ; L. Delisle, Remania, ii. pp. 92 f. ;
Dorange, Catalogue, p. 409 ; K.. Grass, Adamssp'iel, 2nH eH. pp. ixf.
INTRODUCTION XXXI
{b) Folio 8 : 36 Latin hyrans and songs, published by
V. Luzarche in his édition of Office de Pâques^ p. 28.
(r) Folio 20 : the Mystère d'Adam.
id) Folio 40^ : the (Quinze signes du jugement^ copied
immediately after the Mystère d' Adam^ as if it were part of
the latter. It vvas considered as such by the first editors,
Luzarche and Palustre. Grass printed it in appendix to his
first édition, but suppressed it in the second. This or
similar versions hâve been preserved in no less than 18 MSS.
(see Romania^ vi. pp. 22 f . ; viii. p. 313; ix. p. 176).
Some of thèse hâve been edited, e.g. MS. 354 of Berne, by
Konrad Hofraann in Anzeige der Bairischen Akademie, 1860,
Nos. 44-45 ; the Provenpl version in MS. Harl. 7403,
Brit. Muséum, by H. Suchier in Denkm'àler der provenzalischn
Literatur^ Halle, 1883, i. pp. 156-64.
{e) Folio 47 : Vie de Sai?ît George^ published by V.
Luzarche in the same vol. as La Vie de la vierge Marie . . .,
pp. 93-117-
(/) Folio 61 : Wace's Vie de la Vierge Marie., published
by V. Luzarche, La Vie de la Vierge Marie de maître Wace
. . . suivie de la vie de Saint George^ poème inédit du même
trouvère,'^ Tours, 1859. There are several other MSS. of
this work ; one of them was published by Mancel and
Trebutin, V Établissement de la fête de la Conception de Notre-
Dame^ Caen, 1842. See also Romania, vi., 1877, p. lo.
{g) Folio 109 : Vie de Saint Grégoire, published by V.
Luzarche, Vie du pape Grégoire le Grand, Tours, 1857.
{h) Folio 185 : the Distichs of Cato, translated into
French verse by Adam de Suel. In his introduction to
Adam (pp. xxxiii f.) V. Luzarche has given a fevv extracts
of this poem, which is fragmentary in the Tours MS. — the
beginning is missing. There are at least twelve other MSS.
of Adam de Suel's translation. See Romania, vi., 1877, p. 20.
(/) Folio 205 : Vie de Sainte Marguerite (introductory
^ Weber {Zeitschrift fur romanische Philclogie, v,, 1880, p. 498) questions
Wace's authorship ami assigns the poem to about tlie yenr 1200.
XXxii LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
portion missing), published by A. Joly, La Vie de sainte
Marguerite^ poème inédit de IVace^ Paris, 1879. ^^^ ^^^°
Romania, viii., 1879, p. 275, Notes et extraits des MSS. de la
BibRothèque Nationale, xxxiii. pp. i, 19, and Zeitschrift fUr
romanische Philologie, v., 1880, p. 51, where three other MSS.
are described.
(_;') Folio 217 : Miracle de Sardenay (also preserved in a
more complète form in two other MSS.), published by G.
Raynaud, Romania, xi., 1882, pp. 519-37; xiv., 1885, pp.
82-93 ; and xv., 1886, p. 354.
{K) On the last page (folio 229^") are the first four quatrains
of an ÉpUre farcie de Saint Etienne, a Provençal text closely
resembling that contained in the MS. of Saint Guilhem du
Désert published by G. Paris in Remania, x., 1881, p. 218.
The original appears to hâve been written in a dialect of the
langue d'oïl. See also Romania, ii., 1873, p. 91 ; ix., 1880,
p. 155, and Zeitschr.f. rom. Plil. iv. p. 99.
As stated above, the Mystère d^ Adam occupies folios 20^'
to 40^ of the MS. The writing is careless and not easy to
read (Luzarche, p. Ixix). On the first five leaves (folios 20*^
to 25^) the verses are written in long lines like prose, but
from the top of folio 25^ {i,e. from v. 315 onward) a fresh
line has been assigned to each verse. The handwriting is
somevvhat smaller after verse 387.
After the labours expended on this text by so many
scholars,! there is clearly little Icft for a late-comer to glean.
If in a fcw instances I hâve been able to suggest further
improvements, my task has in the main been to sitt the
évidence adJuced by others, examine rival claims, and adopt
the emendations which best satisfied the exigencies of language,
mètre, and context. I hâve indicatcd the sources of ail but
obvious corrections, and hâve mentioned discarded variants
iu the foot-notes.
It would hâve been comparatively easy to standardise
the spelling of the text and to remove more of the vagaries
1 A (ietaileii account of previuus éditions is given under ' Bibliography.'
INTRODUCTION XXXIU
for which the scribes may be responsible. But the Anglo-
Normans were notoriously bad spellers ; and it is by no means
certain that the original writer of the Mystère (V Adam
adhered to a uniform System of orthography. The évidence
rather points the other way. He certainly did not assign
constant values to the symbols o and u^ and it would hâve
been futile to attempt any discrimination between them.
On the other hand, the sounds et and e^ ci and oi^ ei and ai
(cxcept before a nasal), te and e, are so carefully kept apart
in the rhymes, that it is hard to believe that the author
confused them in writing. There is évidence that the scribe
of the Tours MS. is responsible for the substitution of oi for ei
in some cases at least. Copying hurriedly he wrote toi dirraiy
after v. 85 ; then discovering that he had misscd three lines,
he crossed out the passage and rc-wrote it later as tei dirrai.
He likewise altcred savoir 123 into saveir^ while \Vi flamboie 5 1 7
and voie 518 he appears to hâve added 0 as an afterthought.
I hâve thercfore felt justified in restoring ei throughout.^
A superficial examination of the poem makes plain the fact
that the declension with two cases had already broken down
in the original, even if not to the extent revealed by the Tours
MS. As it would hâve been too arbitrary to differentiate
between the blunders of the scribes and those of the author,
it has, in most cases, seemed préférable to accept the reading
of the MS. For similar reasons the indiscriminate use of the
pronouns le and //, que and qui, tuit and tut or tôt has also been
retained. With regard to the conjugation, the confusion of
the second person singular and the second person plural is not
uncommon in Old French dialects, but particularly fréquent
in later Anglo-Norman. It would hâve been simple enough
to introduce the correct numbcr throughout, but this has only
been donc where, for the sake of the mètre, an emendation
was imperative.
^ As the advjsability of such a change may be questioned, the spelling of
the MS. has in every case been given in the foot-notes. G. Paris adopts w,
see ' Bibliography.'
XXXI V
In order to avoid confusion, I hâve substituted qu or c for
ch ( = k), e.g. onques for onches 373; donques for douches
890 ; and y for ^ ( = j) before a^ 0, or u^ e.g. jardin for gardin
244,1 manjues for mangues 261. I hâve also followed the
practice of previous editors in introducing modem punctua-
tion, the distinction between v and //, i and y, and the use of
diacritics.
1 regret that circumstances arising out of the war hâve
prevented me from comparing the text once more with the
original. Fortunately the careful collation of W. Foerster has
rendered the task almost superfluous.
IV. The Language
That the Tours MS. does not contain the text of the
Mystère d^ Adam in the author's own hand, is sufficiently
proved by the miscellaneous nature of its contents. The
copyist belonged doubtless to Southern France ; otherwise he
would hardly hâve included a Provençal text in his collection.^
His chief source appears to hâve been some Anglo-Norman
MS., which under the Plantagenets, possibly during the reign
of John, or Henry III., might easily hâve reached Aquitaine.
In it the text of the Mystère d'' Adam had already undergone
considérable altérations. It was, moreover, badly written or
in 80 damaged a condition that certain passages could no
longer be deciphered. To recover the primitive version we
must endeavour to remove the errors emanating from thèse
two sources — the Provençal scribe on the one hand, and the
Anglo-Norman scribe (or scribes ?) on the other.
In a gênerai way we may safely ascribe to a Frenchman
of the South : 3
^ This change is justified by the spellings yar^/n 82, and jardenier 182.
2 ' La présence de ce texte provençal dans le manuscrit, la nature du
papier et le caractère de l'écriture, tout se réunit pour faire supposer que le
recueil a été copié dans le midi de la France. . . .' (L. Delisle, Romania, ii.,
1873, p. 95)-
' Suchier first drew attention to the présence of many Provençal forms
INTRODUCTION XXXV
(a) The use of atonie a for e, e.g. lasîaras 55, estas 114,
maîa 439, natura 780, /<?rr<ï 783 ; perhaps also sevaW^ 226.
(^) The rétention of final c m foc <)^^yfouc 935, 938.
(f) The suppression or addition of » at the end of a word,
especially the confusion of nen and ;7^, ^z^^;; and que, men and
;7/^, îen and Z^", /(f/? and se, etc.
(^) The omission of the final dental in sen (i sg. oï sentir)
114 ; /r^», 69, 263, 573 ; and respon 883.
(^) The use of z for intervocalic d in tarzera 558, 918 ;
perhaps also the spellings ^/Vz/é?» ^2,forzor 44, ^^/z^^r 290,
comenza 916, etc.
(y) A further confusion of the spelling, <?, ei, ai, oi —
thèse spellings having already to some extent been confused
by Anglo-Norman copyists (see below and p. xxxvii {i)).
(g) The fréquent interchange of the prépositions por and
par, probably due to the fact that the abbreviations were
misunderstood by the scribe.
(/i) The introduction of such Southern French words as
/imo 2,/raiture 586.
(/) The confusion of cuer (< cor) and cors (< corpus), e.g.
cor 900 and cors 28, for which cuer should be substituted.
But before the tex.t reached the South of France, it had
already undergone great changes at the hands of one or more
Anglo-Norman scribes. Thèse changes probably included :
{a) The confusion of ai {e) and et, c.g./eit 5, 183 ; pleisir
47; mesfeite 563; seiez (sapis) 125. In the rhymes thèse
two sounds are kept distinct — plaît 346 (: droit) is certainly
corrupt.
{b) The spelling a for ai, which has not been recorded .
before the thirteenth century ;2 examples are fairly numerous : r\ ^
-^l«>tw>
in the text on p. 686 of his exhaustive review of Graas'a first édition (see
* Bibliography ').
^ It is more likely, however, that icvah is merely a mistake for tt^eah.
See p. xlvi.
2 Cf. L. E. Menger, The Anglo-Norman Dialecte New York, 1904, p. 45 ;
A, Stimming, Der anglonormannische Boe^e de Hauntone, Halle, 1899, p. 195.
XXXvi LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
crerra 313 ; tra 365 ; sa 367 ; a 745. Ou the other hand,
aie for ai only occurs once in aienz, 167.
(r) The fall of pretonic e in hiatus (often spoken of as
characteristic of Anglo-Norman, although it did not bccome
gênerai before the thirteenth century^), e.g. pecchor 315 (but
peccheor 95) ; chaite 318 ; duses 396; maleit 473, 736 ; makite
429 ; malait 434 ; /w;r<?r 898. In ail thèse cases the mètre
requires the rétention of the e.
{d) The fall of pretonic e before a consonant (even more
characteristically Anglo-Norman than the fall of pretonic e
in hiatus) ; it occurs very frequently in the future oî faire ^
e.g. frai 7, 41, 48, 121, etc. ; fras 159, 165, 661, 674 ; fra
285, 488, etc. ; fez 493 ; frunt 836 ; but hère again the e
was still sounded in the original.
{é) The fall of post-tonic e (a common phenomenon
already in twelfth-century Anglo-Norman), e.g. after vowels
or diphthongs : changé 3 19 ; gusté 505 ; blastengé 5 59 ; reproché
560 ; oy 841 ; troublé 842 ; esgardé 843 ; trenchié 850 ; trai
352; avois Z^^ \ frai 570 ; volet 753 i after consonants :
tut 32 ; bon 312 ; mal 322, 371 ; mesfatt 461 ; long 582 ;
ferm 598 ; ;77// 610 ; cest 843 ; ^/rr// 892 ; ckr 936 ; in the
imperative : honor 29; ^;^ 37; escult 129; ^jf«/ 187. In
ail thèse cases the mètre requires the restoration of the e ;
but the féminine pronoun el (by the side of ele) belongs to
the original.
(/) The development of parasitic e (very fréquent in
Anglo-Norman, but not confined to that dialect), e.g. between
V and r : beveras 53 ; avéras 54 ; avérez. 264, 267, 505 ;
avertnt 602, 839 ; averunt 812 ; saveras 295, 300, 553, 686 ;
viveras 476; concevera 919; recoverer 496; but avras 53,
737 ; avrat 426 ; tf^r^z 503 ; avront 507, etc. Only forms
without e belong to the original.
{£) The change of pretonic e into /, e.g. fiel 1 2 (but feel
45, 825) ; dévia (vb. deveer) 152.
1 Early instances from the Passion ofSt. Andrew (? end of twelfth century)
hâve been pointed out by A. T. Baker in Moi. Lang. Re-vie'U), xi., 1916, p. 425.
INTRODUCTION XXXVll
(Jî) The change of pretonic e to ^ in such words as asaer
6ïi { = aseeir or asseeir) ; ma'îme 658. This change is very
common in the thirteenth century, but in certain combina-
tions occurs earlier. See p. xl (f).
(/) Confusion of et and oi. In Anglo-Norman etymolo-
gical et probably never became assimilated in sound to oi
(< 0 or au +j). Instances of rhymes voie (via) : joie do not
occur before the thirteenth century ; even then they are rare
and probably not pure rhymes.^ In our text iafoîoie 60 ( : oie :
foie '.joie) is certainly corrupt. On the other hand the spell-
ing oi for ei (a mère orthographie change) is found sporadic-
ally in twelfth-century Anglo-Norman texts. It gradually
gained favour in the subséquent period. In Boeve the spell-
ing oi occurs about as frequently as et ; 2 in our MS. the
proportion is decidedly in favour of oi. This prépondérance
of oi is doubtless due to altérations at the hands of successive
scribes, Anglo-Norman and Provençal.
(J) The réduction of ie to e^ and ien to en^ which by the
end of the twelfth century became one of the chief char-
acteristics of the Anglo-Norman dialect. The actual réduc-
tion in sound, hov/ever, did not take place before the middle
of the twelfth century, and in our text ie never rhymes with
e, except m bel : ciel 938, an obvious interpolation. The
spelling ie must therefore be restored in manger 148, 436 ;
Pautr'er 175; muiller ijy, 439 ; devé 403 ; guerreer 440 ; moilkr
422, 423 ; pecché ifio^ 816 ; ftté 512, 803 j pecchez 520 ; aez
di"] ; in the suffix -arium, e.g. encombrer 331 ; recov{e)rer
496, 526 ; provender 176 ; finally in ben 2, 12, 14 ; ten 299.
{k) The spelling oun for un or on^ which according to
Stimming {pp, cit. p. 191) is not met with before the beginning
of the thirteenth century : there is only one example, viz.
noun 10 (but nun 82, non 593).
^ The poem of the Passion of St. Andreiv {loc. cit.), however, contains
the rhymes crois (crucem) : crois (credis) 431 : rois (rex) 477, etc., and uses
the spelling oi throughout.
"^ Cf. Stimming, p. 198,
XXXviii LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
(/) The change of ou (pu) to eu in deus 607, ambedeus 16
(but dous 240, 591, 609, 620, tic), feu 818 (but /« 361),
the spelling eu being rare even in thirteenth-century Anglo-
Norman.^
{m) The' spelling ou for pretonic ç which occurs four times
only, i.e. fourme l, 4 ; fourmee 17 (but formé 50, formas 74,
forma iS^^ formai 407) and aourer 860. Also in the adv.
ou (ubi) 427 (but u 723), and the conj. (aut) 728, 884, etc.
{n) The rhyme ue \ e (< a) in cuer : luër 659 : 60. The
passage is obviously faulty, and as such rhymes hâve not been
recorded earlier than the thirteenth century, it seemed best
to adopt Tobler's emendation.
(0) Confusion of u and /. Apart from the learned word
rmor 734, it is only instanced in the rhyme tue : viej^C) : 40,
where the scribe appears to hâve substitutcd tue for occie.
(/>) The use of pronoun /ui for /; in dative féminine (not
recorded before thirteenth century).^ As it only occurs once
in the text (v. 13), it can safely be imputed to a scribe.
(ç) A préférence for the lengthened forms of the démon-
stratives, i.e. içOj icist^ icest, itel^ etc., when the mètre clearly
demands fo, cist^ cest^ tel, etc.
(r) The interchange of conjugations (which became a
characteristic of later Anglo-Norman). The réduction of
ei to e facilitated, since the middle of the twelfth century,
the passage of infinitives in -eir to the -er class. In our text
the spelling mover 6 ; saver 115, 116, etc. (but saveir 158 ;
savoir 687) ; veer 402, 524 ; aver 538, 616, etc. ; maner 523 ;
asaer 612, etc. are mère orthographie changes; in no case
are thèse words found to rhyme with etymological -er?
^ Cf. Menger, p. 68 \ Stimming, p. 206.
* Cf. Stimming, p. xxii.
3 P. Meyer considers that the four verbs dijer^ poer^ saver, and voler
were the first to be assimilated to the -er conjugation (cf. Les Contes moralises
de N. Boxon, Paris, 1889, p. Ixiv). The fact that in our X.tx\. pceir 515 is
rctained by the side of maner 523, asaer 612, while double forms saver and
saveir occur side by side, further points to haphazard changes on the part
of the scribe.
INTRODUCTION XXXIX
(/) The confusion of présent and preterite tenses in the
conjugation oï faire, t.%. fais 699, 714, 735 ; fais tes 797, 799,
where context and mètre require respectively disyllabic fesis
and tvhjMzhic fesistes.
if) A tendency to replace the future by a construction
with W^/r + infinitive, destroying thereby the mètre, e.g.
gieter nus voldra { = nus gietera) 590; voldra deus susciter
[ = cleus resusdterà) 771 ; perhaps also far ceste porte volez,
entrer { = enterrez.) 859.
(a) The confusion of the second person singular and
second person plural, though probably présent in the original,
was certainly aggravated by the scribe.
{v) The substitution of ensi^ for // and of ovec for od.
Grass has shown that in three cases out of four {i.e, vv. 673,.
870, 873) the mètre requires od instead oï ovec. This makes
it likely that in v. 70 ovec should be replaced by // od,
Having thus removed from the text two groups of corrup-
tions, let us now examine the language of the restored original.
Such an examination has already been undertaken by Grass
in his first édition and revised in his second édition. But
Grass has not drawn a clear distinction between the language
of the original and that of the Tours MS. In his endeavour
to be thorough, he has failcd to lay sufficient stress on cssential
features, and often obscured them by a mass of détails. His
treatment may be exhaustive, but it is somewhat bewildering
even to the advanced student. It will, therefore, not be
without value to put the matter in a simpler and more
practical form.
In setting forth the characteristic features of the original
language of the Mystère d^ Adam, I shall follovv, in the main,
the order adopted by L. E. Menger [op. cit.), and start from
the Vulgar Latin, rather than as Grass did from the Old
French (Francien) sounds.
^ Enù is commonly found in A.-N. texts of the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, e.g. Boe-ve (cd. Stimming) 1047, etc. ; Oak Book of Southampton
(éd. Studer), ii. p. 74,
Xl LE MYSTÈRE D*ADAM
Phonology
VowELS. A. {^) Tonic free a > e^ which rhymes neither
with f (< ë) nor with f (< ê, ï), but only with itself.
(â) A bcfore a palatal > ai. In our text this had already
ceased to be a diphthong and, whether followed by one or
several consonants, rhymed freely with f, e.g. maistre 258,
310 { : estrf) ; relais 678 {-.après). The spelling e occurs
extensively for etymological ai^ e.g. mes 180, 522, 554, etc. ;
fet {factum) 182, 391, 449, etc. ; mes/et 348 ; fet {facit) 524 ;
for/et 572 ; fere, 684 ; nestre 909.
(r) J after a palatal > te assimilated in sound to te (< ç, or
j + e), e.g. vergugnier 396 (: autr'ier) ; chier 33 {: mullier) -^
mangier 421 (: mollier) ; guerreier 440 (: mullier).
{d) A before a nasal in free position > ain. In Anglo-
Norman the confusion of ain and ein took place earlier than
in Francien. It was an accomplished fact in the original
version of our text, as is shown by the rhymesy^//? ( fenum) :
certain 851 : 52 ; paine (poena) : semaine 501 : 02 ; enseigne :
feigne : pleigne 619 : 622.
From the above examples it is abundantly clear that the
spellings ain and ein were used indiscrirainately.
It should further be noted that ain also rhymes, on the
one hand, with an, e.g. pan (< panera) : àa^an 435 : 36, and on
the other, with en, e.g. defens : mains (manus) 149 : 50,
although an aïïH en never rhyrae together.^
{e) A before a nasal in checked position > an. No con-
fusion takes place between the spellings an and en, and, as
stated above {d), rhymes an : en do not occur in the text.
(/) A before / regularly gave ^/, e.g. osfe/ 645, but in
endings -alem, -alura a was more frequently retained in Anglo-
Norman than in Francien, e.g. ega/ 6j, z'jo ; charnal 779 ;
mort aïs, 873 ; celestial iz^i, 874; le al 6^.
{g) Pretonic a > e. This e was still pronounced by the
' Grass (p. xxxix) questions the genuineness of verses 149-50, but apart
from the rhyme defem : mains, thcre is no ground for suspicion.
INTRODUCTION xli
author of the Mystère d' Adam^ e.g. peccheor 95 ; eage 98 ; seure-
ment 128, 302 ; veer (vetare) 168, etc., although later scribes
hâve suppressed it in some cases. (See p. xxxvi (r), {d).)
Not infrequently a is found instead oï e both before vowels
and consonants, e.g. bonaurté 499 ; salvaor 925 ; ascute 239
(but escote 49 ; esculte 129 ; escute 187) ; parais 210.
A even occurs for pretonic e in asai 286 and traiiage 464,
spellings which probably belong to the original. But see
p. xxxvi (/4).
Ç. (tf) Tonic free e> ei^ rhymes neither with (?/, nor with
ai and e. The spellings oi^ ni and ^ for et are attributable to
scribes and hâve been discarded in the présent édition.
[b) Before /, f was apparently assimilated quite early to ej
in Anglo-Norman, particularly in ceaîs (found in MS. (L) of
the Computus of Philippe de Thaun, although eliminated by
the editor ; in Roland^ etc.). Ceals occurs twice in the
Mystère d' Adam^ v. 459 and v. 557 (in the latter case the MS.
has eals\ but the spelling cels is more common, e.g. vv. 555,
801, etc. As, however, it never occurs in the rhyme, it is
difficult to ascertain its pronunciation.^
{c) Pretonic ç. (See below.)
E. {a) Tonic free e > ie. In our text it rhymes with ie
(< a) (see p. xl (r)), but never with ^, the couplet after 938
being certainly interpolated. The spelling e for ie is due
to a scribe. 2 (See p. xxxvii (y).)
{h) E before a nasal > ien^ which never rhymes with e7i.
The spellings ben 2, etc., ten 299, etc., must be discarded.
(See p. xxxvii (y).)
{c) Pretonic ^, as well as pretonic f, was retained in the
original either as ^ or as ^ (see p. xl (^)) ; its occasional
disappearance in the spelling is due to later scribes. (See
p. xxxvi (r), {d).)
{d) On the other hand, e before j + consonant was occa-
^ Cf. Menger, pp. 54, 58 ; H. Suchier, AltJranaUsische Grammatik, p. 82.
2 J. Vising {Zeitzchrift f. fran%. Spr. u. Lit. xxxix., 1912, p. Il) has
shown that in the Mystère d'Adam there are 40 rhymes in e anrl 19 in ie.
xlii LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
sionally absent, e.g. spee 517 ; sperance 587, 747 ; steille 817,
853 (but es teille 823, 848) ; scoU 856 (but escole 220) ; studie
867. The forms without e only occur after a vowel.
0. {a) Tonic free q is usually written o, e.g. amor 23 ;
honore 29 ; créât or 29 ; se'ignor 30, etc. ; but u is also a common
spelling, e.g. creatur 8 ; î'z// 22 ; /r//r 93 ; freiir 94, etc.
Although generally spelt 0^ etymological q never rhymes with
0 (< ô, au), but it rhymes with u (< û), and can, thercfore,
hardly hâve been a diphthong. Probably it had the sound
of a in Latin (cf. p. xliii [a)).
{h) O before a palatal is invariably written u'i in our text,
e.g. reconuis 30 ; anguisse 456 ; cruix 810.
In pretonic position ui is occasionally replaced by «, e.g.
conustrai 43 ; pussance 590 ; but quidni 175, 577 ; f///V<if 415,
443 : quidat 168 ; puissance 270 ; puissant 308, 942 ; bruiant()i6.
{c) Q before a nasal > un or É?^r, the former predominating.
Noun 10 does not belong to the original version (see p. xxxvii
{k)). Qn and on were by this time identical in sound, as
is shown by the rhymes pome : home 305 : 06 ; homme : somme
771 : 72. It should, however, be noticed that çn is never
spelt un, except in the third person plural ending of the future.
{d) Pretonic ç is either 0 or u. The spelling ou, where it
occurs, has been introduced by a scribe. (See p. xxxviii {m).)
Ç. {a) Tonic free 2 > ^^> oi^b' ^^^^^ ^» ^-ê- ^^^'* ^^^> ^°^'
659, 844. In other positions it is usually replaced by ce,
which has been regarded as a mère orthographie device on
the part of scribes to distinguish «^ ( = ue < 0) from ue ( = ve),^
e.g. poez 51, 10 1, 140, etc. ; poet 115, 137, 694, etc. ; vce/s
198 (but vo/s 116, 199, Z'o[/]s 27) ; voe/t 225 ; estoet 332 ;
i/oec 337 (but i/oc 336) ; noef{novQm) 663 ; oe/66^.
Not infrequcntly 0 occurs instcad o^ ue or oe, thus, besidcs
the examples given ^hoxs, proi>e 689; pop/e 819, 835 ; ovre
843, 844.
The rhymes do not help to ascertain the nature of the
^ Cf. Menger, p. 74 5 Meyer-Lubke, Grammaire des langues romanes, vol,
i.§ 211.
INTRODUCTION xHii
Sound, as tonic free o only rhymes with itself, e.g. ;ioe/: oej
663 : 64 ; ovre (opéra) : ovre (vb. ovrer) 843 : 44 ; nor can
any conclusion be drawn from cuer : luér 659 : 60, as the
passage is certainly corrupt. (See p. xxxviii («).)
{b) O before / or a palatal > ci, e.g. poisset 92 ; enoit 114;
poisse 139 ; /wV ( = postea) 166, 839, 852 ; despois 505 ; pois
( = possum) 578; oi (hodie) 704; nott (noctera), 438, 638.
Instead of 0/, ui is found in puis ( = possum) 115, 148,
344, 369, etc.; puis ( = postea) 167, 267, 671, 910, 912.
Thèse alternative spellings, together with such rhymes as
déduit -.enoit 113 : 14, show sufficiently that Latin ^ + i and
û + i gave in the language of the author one and the same
Sound. (See p. xliv {b).)
{c) O before a nasal > on, e.g. bon 9, 295 ; borne 93, 306,
etc. ; bom 94, etc. ; bone 220, 258, etc. ; somont 861 ; honte
393, 401 ; conte 394 5 amont 862. Although the sound freely
rhymes with qn (see above, p. xlii (r)), it is never spelt un^
except in the third person plural ending of future, e.g.
perdrunt 838, etc.; ferunt 836, etc.; porrunt 814, etc.;
av{e)runt 812, etc.; but avront 839, etc.; prendront 802 ;
mettront 837, etc.
In free position uen (or oen) is commonly found for on^
especially in earlier Anglo-Norman texts,^ but the Mystère
d^Adam ofFers only one example of this spelling, viz. toen
(accented possessive) 98, 460, 542, 556, 616, but ton 47,
son { = soens) 825.
y. (^7) Generally writtcn u in our text, but 0 is not
uncomraon, e.g. cbescons 92, 665 ; dor 800 ; dors 223 ; dore
320 ; engendreore 584 ; dorges (subjunct. of durer") 740.
There is no reason to think that this alternative spelling
0 or u does not belong to the original, and, as Grass
rightly remarks (2nd édition, p. xliv), it points to the
identity of sound of ç and. u. This conjecture receives
fresh support from the rhyme criator : dur 231 : 32. We
may therefore conclude that tonic free ç (<0, ù) and y
^ Cf Suchier, Grammatïk^ pp. 73-4.
xliv LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
(< Q) were pronounced by the author somcwhat like u in
Latin or ou in Modem French. (See also {b),) This
places the Anglo- Norman origin of the text beyond the
région of doubt, as rhymes {> : « are unknown in continental
Norman. Suchier^ and Behrens ^ hâve, cach by his own
method, cndeavoured to prove that this peculiar pronuncia-
tion of u was confined to Anglo-Norman as spoken in the
Midlands and Northern Counties of England. Their argu-
ments, however, are not absolutcly conclusive.
Confusion of u and /, arising it would seem from the
difhculty of rendering adcquately the French u [y] sound, is
also commonly found in Anglo-Norman, but apart from the
learned word rimor 734, our text ofFers no example of this
confusion. As already stated (see p. xxxviii (0)), the rhyme
tue : c'/> 739 : 40 does not belong to the original.
{h) U before / or a palatal > ui, e.g. an^iut 14 ; /ui 35, 40,
etc.; fruif 107, 147, etc.; déduit 113, 170, 178; fui
( = fugc) 195, 196, 201; cui 511, 765, 847; fui ( = fui)
527, 754, etc. ; tuit 746. Sometimes, as happens in some of
the earliest Anglo-Norman texts,^ 0: is found instead of «/,
t.%. froit 472, 776 ; toit 459, 802, etc. On p. xliii {b) it has
bcen shown that «?/, ui (< o + i) rhymes with «/, o't (< Q + i).
Such rhymes are only found in texts which confuse u (< û)
and q (> 0, û). This further strengthens the conjecture
advanced above as to the sound of u.
Although there are no rhymes ui (<Q + i):«/ (< o + i)
or oi (< o + i) \ ui (<ç> + i), it would seem that ail thèse com-
binations resulted in one sound.
CoNsoNANTs. Thc fondncss of Anglo-Norman writers for
double consonants is to be seen in our text — for double rr
^ hittraturblatt fUr gtrm, und rom, Phil,^ l888, p. 176, and Grammatik,
p. 12.
2 Beitr'dge zur Geichichte der franz. Sprache in England (in FranzSsisc^e
Sfudien, éd. Kôrting und Koschwitz, v. 2, p. 118).
^ E.g. Com/>u:u5 of Philippe de Thaun (L) : Joist, ioin } cf. Suchier,
Grammatik, p. 35.
INTRODUCTION xlv
see p. xlvi, for double ss see p. xlviii (a) ; other examplcs are :
mm : summe 191 ; somme 772; cumme 864; femme 10, 11,
etc. ; homme 763, etc. un : gaainnié 404 ; vilainnie 560.
bb : gabber 416.
In other respects the consonants give occasion for few
remarks.
M. Final m is retained very frcely in Anglo-Norman texts,
and ours is no exception to the rule ; but the theory that the
use of final m or ;; was conditioned by the nature of the
following Sound ^ receives little support from our version.
Alternative forms are found only in the case of en (< in), e.g.
en ton cuer 28, etc., but em fist 231 ; em plaît 344 ; em paine
454; em péril 574; on the other hand : en manjerai 301 ;
en fu 361 ; en vie 446 ; en paine 463 ; en paradis 494 ; en
perdicion 536, etc.
In first person plural cndings final m is invariably retained,
e.g. purrum 86 ; seom 594 ; seum 595 ; servum 596, 599 ;
rendom 600 ; donum 603 ; preom 637 ; alom 642, 665 ; issum
66j ; even before s : conquerroms 596 ; voloms 601 ; serroms
606, 672 ; aloms 629, 635 j irrums 671.
M has also been retained in the proper names, Adam i,
49, etc. ; Chaim 623, 723 ; and m faim 53, 500 ; hom 95, 521 ;
aim 136; criem 136; cum 324, etc., no matter w^hat sound
may follow. On the other hand, m has always been reduced
to n in nun (nomen) 10, 82, 593.
The rhymes cumpainum : nun 9 : 10 ; Adam : sathan
195 : 96 ; non : raison 745-46, etc., show that no distinction
was made in the pronunciation.
N. {a) After r, final n was occasionally retained in the
spclling, e.g. emfern 508, but in pronunciation it had dis-
appeared since the time of Philippe de Thaun. That such
was the case in our text is shown by the rhymes suor :jor
437 '• 38 î amor -.jor 6t,'j : 38. For final », sec also p. xxxv (r).
{b) In the interior of a word n before f usually becomes
m, as in most Anglo-Norman works, e.g. emfanter 96 j comfort
^ Cf. Menger, pp. 83-5.
xlvi
102 ; emfers zi'i, ; emfance 276 ; emfer 332, 333, etc. ; emfern
508 ; emfanx 453, 455, 933 ; emfantera 920.
(r) The group nm has become Im^ through dissimilation,
in aime 508, 602.
{d) P has been introduced between m and n in dampné
618 ; dampne deu 630.
L. The treatment of / before a consonant is one of the
most perplexing questions connected with the study of
Anglo-Norman. In certain cases / appears to hâve been
suppressed altogether, in others it was vocalized, while yet in
others it was retained. Various tendencies were probably
at work which prevented a uniform development. To make
matters worse the spelling often gives no due to the pro-
nunciation. Such a state of affairs is revéaled by the Tours
MS., e.g. jilx is always written with /, 382, 592, 788, but
rhymes with contrediz 753. On the one hand we find esculte
129, and on the other, escote 49 ; escute 187 ; escoter 613 ;
escutera 912 ; escutez 913 ; but the rhyme ascute 239 {-.roté)
shows that vocalization of / had already taken place. The
same conclusion can be drawn from the spellings Vautr'ier
175, 395 ; au 348, 349, 704. But elsewhere the etymological
/ is invariably retained, while in beal 387, 611 ; ceals 459 ;
\c\eals 557 (perhaps also in sev\e\aîs 226), an a glide has been
introduced.^
R. Confusion of r and rr is common as in other Anglo-
Norman texts, e.g. rr for r : serrai 45 ; serras 52 ; serra 84 ;
serroms 606 ; serrez 265 ; serrunt 161 ; dirrai 81, etc. ; ferra
99, etc.; corrage i'i,\\ perriz 374; irrai 673, 677; irrez
506 ; irrums 671 ; trarra 782, 926 ; but serez 14 ; feras 100 ;
trara 338, etc. On the other hand, we find r for rr : tere 5 ;
guère 6, 790, 836 ; curant 120 ; coru 520 ; sucure 334 ; socore
522 ; guère don 703, 738 ; compera 584 ; laron 810 ; deliverat
816 ; piere 850.
The pronunciation would seem to hâve been identical,
* G. Paris assumes uniform vocalization of /, and normalizes the text
accordingly (see ' Bibliography ').
INTRODUCTION xlvii
as shown by the rhymes denture : sucure 333 : 34 ; aiire : socore
521 : 22.
T, D; {a) Intervocalic t or d has left no trace in our text ;
paradis 82, etc. {hut parais 210, 927) is of learned origin.
{b) Final t or ^, if fixed {i.e. supported by consonants),
either becomes / or d. The final </ is a characteristic of the
Anglo-Norman dialect. It occurs almost as frequently as
final /, e.g. mond 64, 255, 331, etc. ; rend 73 ; comand 85 ;
regard 271 ; fond 332 ; but semblant. 4; querant 207, etc.
The removal of the dental at the end of sen, pren^ and
respon is probably the work of the Provençal scribe. (See
p. XXXV (</).)
{ç) Final dental, if loose {i.e. unsupported by consonant),
had disappeared from pronunciation — cf. rhyme devea 152
{: la) -y demaine 370 {: paine) \ sojorne 398 {: morne) ; enlace
401 {-.face) ; oie 59 {'.joie) ; sucure 334 (: demure) ; vaille 341
{-.faille) ; etc. — although it was occasionally retained in the
spelling, e.g. eissit 20; poisset 92; quidat 168; d'i/;?/?/ 419,
etc., also as d -. marid 34; serrad 79; ^^ (habet) 82, 97,
etc. (but ^252, etc.), avrad 347.
0. In the treatment of c the language of the Mystère
d'Adam does not difFer in any way from Francien. The
spelling, however, gives rise to a few remarks.
{a) C pronounced as k is variously written r, i, qu^ or r/^,
e.g. kar 124, 171, 569, more commonly car 38, 282, 285,
etc., but also c^ar 588, 794, 800, 822. Other examples of
cà { = k) are: oncbes 373, 615; uncÂes 327, 519, 684 (but
onques 741) ; donches 890 ; </i?»f^ 178. For the sake of clear-
ness I hâve in ail thèse cases replaced ch by c or qu in the
présent édition.
{b) C pronounced as // is generally written r, e.g. force 32 ;
cest 82, etc., but sometimes sCy which according to Stimming
{Boeve, p. 232) represcnts a transition stage from // to /,
e.g. haltesce 376 ; oscirai 697, 721 ; oscira 741 (but ocis 705 ;
occis 732 ; occire 753 ; occirunt 808) i nascion jôj.
The spelling z for c in comenza 916 (but començas 440) ;
xlviii LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
forzor 44 ; friczion 52 ; halzor 290 is probably due to the
Provençal scribe. (See p. xxxv {e).)
(r) C pronounced as ch [tj] is invariably written as in
Francien.
W. This letter was commonly used in Anglo-Norman,
but our text ofFers only one example, viz. gwai 420.
S. {a) As in most Anglo-Norman texts, confusion of / and
// is common, e.g. guerpisez 71 ; asis 83 ; seiises 257 ; asai
286, etc.
{b) The group // is either retained, e.g. mesler 199 ;
meslee 362 ; meslai 708, or becomes dl^ e.g. brudlee 361. The
latter change is peculiar to the Anglo-Norman dialect.
(r) S never falls before / except once in poetifs 760, which
is undoubtedly corrupt.
(</) 5 before consonants, other than /, /, or r, had possibly
ceased to be sounded, but it survives in the spelling. It is
improbable that dîmes 712 (but disme 657) and mOime. 658
belong to the original.
MORPHOLOGY
The Article. Considérable confusion has arisen in the
declension of the article, // being commonly found in the
oblique case, e.g. 98, 125, 460, 516; on the other hand,
le occurs once as nominative 874. Lui as article is not
recorded.
SuBSTANTivE AND Adjective. It îs one of the character-
istics of the Anglo-Norman dialect that even in the earliest
texts the declension of the substantive and adjective showed
signs of breaking down, while elsewhere in Northern French
the inflexional System with two cases remained practically
intact until well into the thirteenth century. In our text
the tendency to substitute accusative for nominative is very
marked ; it may hâve been aggravated by scribes, but it
certainly existed to some extent in the original, as is shown
by the rhymes tun pareil 11 {:feeil)\ Evain (vocative) 25
INTRODUCTION xlix
(: î/ain) ; peccheor 95 (: irur) ; talent 116 (: cornent) ; trespasse-
ment 143 {: entent) \ per i6j {: veer), 415 {: gabber), 443
{: deviner) 'y sathan 196 {: Adam) i hardi 202 (:r/), etc.
Likewise in the interior of the verse, the mètre shows that
in 903 malade (not malades)^ in 922 message (not messages)
must be read.
Personal Pronouns, {a) The use of tonic for atonie
forms of Personal pronouns is common in Old French gener-
ally, but especially marked in Anglo-Norman. The varions
scribes may hâve added to the confusion — for example, the
use of te for tei 201 must certainly be imputed to one of
thera, though Grass (2nd éd., p. 51) goes toc far in wishing
to exonerate the original writer altogcther.
{b) The féminine el for ele is met \vith on the Continent,
but seldom with such frequency as in our tcxt.
(r) Tu is frequcntly found with the imperativc, e.g. tu
aime H 13, tu la governe 2 1, ço garde tu 26, etc.
Possessive Pronouns. In the first person the atonie
nominative singular is mis (beforc a vowcl) 84, mi (before a
consonant) 77, 373, 675 ; ;^^/ only occurs once, v. 565. Mis
is also met with in other Anglo- Norman tcxts, e.g. the
Cambridge Psalter} the Oxford Roland, etc., and is. common
in Western Old French.^ The forms tis, ti, sis, si are
unrecorded in our MS.
Relative and Interrogative Pronouns. Like the articles
// and le, the pronouns çui and çue are so frecly interchanged
that it is difficult to bclieve that the two forms had not,
to some extent at least, been confused in the original. Que
for ^ui is found in vv. 112, 230, 244, 341, 370, 382, etc.;
çui for çue in vv. 355, 934 ; cui as nominative occurs once
782.
C0NJUGAT10N. (a) The apparent confusion of the -eir and
-er conjugations is duc to later scribes. (See p. xxxviii (r).)
ï Cf. Menger, p. 118.
^ Cf. E. Schvvan and D. Behrens, Grammaire de l* ancien français, trad. O,
Bloch, Leipzig, 1913, § 327 R.
1 LE MYSràRE d'aDAM
(6) In Anglo-Norman analogical -e in first person singular
présent indicative of verbs in ~er is found as early as the
twelfth century.^ The fact that our text only employs forms
without -^, e.g. comand 85, aim 136, etc., is therefore
significant.
(r) In the second person singular the substitution of -z
for -/, in the case of verbs ending in a labial stem, is
encountered particularly in Anglo- Norman texts.^ The
Mystère d* Adam offers the following examples : dei'z. (debes)
124 ; sez (sapis) 293, etc. (but MS. has ses 898).
{d) In the first person plural the ending is either -um
{-om) : purrum 86 ; seum 595 {seom 594) ; servum 596, 599 ;
donum 603 ; issum 667 ; rendom 600 ; preom 637 ; alom 642 ;
or -ums {-oms) : irrums 671 ; conquerroms 596 ; voloms 601 ;
serroms 606, 672 ; aloms 629, 635. In this respect there is a
very striking resemblance between our text and the Computus
and Bestiaire of Philippe de Thaun.^
{e) In the second person plural -et for -ex occurs in
seiet 68 and suffret 573. This confusion of / and z is entirely
orthographie in Anglo-Norman, and in that respect peculiar
to the dialect.4
(/) The confusion of second person singular and second
person plural is found in most Old French dialccts, but
nowhere quite as frequently as in later Anglo-Norman. In
our text it is very marked, but as v^^as pointed out above (see
p. xxxix {u))y the blâme has probably to be shared between
the author and the scribes.
Présent Subjunctive. {a) Forms in -ge : vienges 203 ;
dunge 208 (but doinst 637); prenge 226; vienge 334, 599,
866 ; dorges 740 ; tienge 748, etc., are very popular in
Anglo-Norman.^
{b) The text ofFers no example of analogical -e in verbs of
the first conjugation.
^ Cf. Schwan and Behrens, op. cit. § 352.
' Cf. Meyer-Lubke, ii. § 173. ^ E(j_ g^ Walberg, p. Ixxvi.
* Cf. Menger, p. 122. * Cf. Menger, p. 122.
INTRODUCTION 11
Imperfect Indicative. In the whole text, only two verbs
of the iirst conjugation are to be found in the imperfect
indicative, viz. chantouent and semblait. Unfortunatcly they
both belong to an interpolated passage (see v. 938 foot-note)
and therefore do not enable us to décide whether the author
used the ending -oue or -eie.
V. Versification
The religious drama grew out of the liturgical text, or
rather out of the interpolations (* tropes ') by means of which
the latter was expanded and adorned. In course of time
thèse interpolations were variously rhymed, generally to suit
musical accompaniment. Diversity of mètre was at first
maintained in dramatic works, even when French was sub-
stituted for Latin, or the subject was secular rather than
religious. This diversity characterizes the works of Jean
Bodel, of Rustebeuf, of Adam de la Halle, and even much
later writers. In the Mistére du Viel Testament verses of ten
and eight syllables alternate in much the same way as in our
text, but 'rimes croisées' hâve replaced the couplets. Tue
Mystère de la Passion of Greban ofFers a wonderful variety
of mètres, including verses of five and seven syllables. But,
notwithstanding thèse exceptions, there was from the thirteenth
century onwards a marked tendency to write plays throughout
in monotonous octosyllabic couplets. ^ The Anglo-Norman
fragment of the Résurrection^ dating probably from the
middle of the thirteenth century, illustrâtes the transition
to a uniform mètre. In this play octosyllabic verses are the
rule — out of 372 verses only six are decasyllabic, but couplets
are interspersed with numerous quatrains or even longer
monorhyme * tirades.'
^ This was the case, for example, with most of the Mirachi de Notre
Dame, with this qualification, however, that in the dialogue the end of
every speech was usually marked by a verse of four syllables, and that
*rondels' and 'ballades' were frequently inserted in thèse plays.
2 MS. Bibliothèque Nationale 902 j cf. Foerster and Koschwitz, Alt-
franzdsisches Ubungsbuck, ira éd., 1907, pp. 213-24.
lii LE MYsriRE d'adam
The Mystère d^ Adam distinctly belongs to an earlier type.
Excluding the two spurious lines inserted in the MS. after
V. 938, there are 758 octosyllabic lines usually grouped in
couplets, but on three occasions the same rhyme runs through
four consécutive lines (vv. 203-206, 643-646, 783-786) and
the play ends with a ' tirade ' of twelve lines rhyming in
-ant. In addition there are 184 decasyllabic lines (49-1 16,
461-472, 519-622) distributed in quatrains with one rhyme,
except the four lines 1 13-1 16 which hâve two rhymes.
This varied versification the author has put to excellent
account. In rapid dialogues, in the glib speech of Satan,
in the angry words of God, and Adam's rage at realizing his
lost estate, he gives préférence to octosyllabic verse^ reserving
the longer mètre for the solemn installation of man in
Paradise, the sorrow of Eve after the Fall, and the lament
of Adam.^ In the second act Abel and Cain speak in deca-
syllabic verse in discussing dispassionately the adnsability
of seeking reconciliation with God by means of gifts and
ofFerings, but as soon as the conversation grows more heated,
the speakers relapse into shortcr verse.
In the matter of mètre and versification gencrally, we
may assume with Vising^ that the author of the Mystère
d'' Adam observed the rules and practices which obtained in
Northern France in the middle of the twelfth century.
This view receives further support from the stage-directions
in which the actors are specially warned in rithmis nec sillabam
addant nec demant {14). Verses which in the Tours MS,
présent irregularities and are eithcr too long or too short,
must accordingly be considered corrupt. The rhymes, as
^ The conjecture of Suchicr {Geschichte d. Jranz, Lit. p. 280) that the
quatrains and monorhyme tirades were destined to be aung, may be disraissed
as most improbable. The singing was obviously confincd to the Latin
verses assigned to the choir. In the tcxt thèse are always precedcd by
the words chorus cartter, cantabit, or incipiet ; the parts of the characters
being introduced by such expressions as dicat, dicens, etc.
' Cf. T. Vising, Sur la venifcation^ anglo-normande^ Upsala, 1884,
p. 73-
INTRODUCTION
liii
was incidentally pointed but in the study of vowel sounds,
are, in the main, very pure.
Octosyllabic verses hâve either a masculine or a féminine
ending. The former number 570 out of a total of 758, or
roughly 75 per cent.
The most usual types of octosyllabic verses are illustrated
I 2 I 3 4 S 6
Ke as tu fet • cum as
(0
7 8
erré
391
with masculine ending (398 instances, +45 without caesura).
(2)
ï 2 3
Que I as I tu
4 S
fet ! por
6
quei
8
hon
te
393
with féminine ending (98 instances, + 5 without caesura).
The main stress rests on 4 and 8 (4 being the end-syllable
of a Word), but 2 and 6 are also accented, and the resuit
is a kind of iambic rhythm.
Slight variations of the chief types are found in :
(3)
(+)
I
Tu
I
En
3 |4 5
go.verjne
2 3
ton cuer
6
par
5i6
8
son
4 iSi o I 7 8
gar|de]ras | bon 'té
28
in which 4 is not the last syllable of a word, but the iambic
rhythm is prescrved to some extent (65 instances of (3) ; 28
of(4)).
A more irregular type is represented by :
(S)
I I 2 I 3 |4| 5 I 6I7 |8
Si vols fai re ! ma vollen té
27
in which 4 is an unstressed syllable, and the iambic rhythm
is destroycd (49 instances).
On the other hand verses like the follovnng :
(6)
(7)
I
N'es
N'est
1 2
jtu
i
4
gloi
re
5 6
ne poez
7
mo
8
rir
2
pas
13
les
4 ■
tran§
J
5 6
de tel
7
es
t
8
n
ee
140
18
liv LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
have been considered corrupt.^ The last editor ^ and other
scholars have attempted to eliminate them from the text.
But examples are so numerous that it is difficult to ascribe
them ail to the worlc of scribes — I incline to think that some
at least are due to the author. The short pause which in
such cases exists in the middle of the verse,^ could allow of
the ellipsis of an unstressed syllable even in an Anglo-
Norman poem of so early a period. I have therefore re-
frained from altering verses i8, 37, 140, 159, 197, 200, 712,
772, 809, and 859, for which the MS. reading seemed in other
respects satisfactory. On the other hand, emendations were
clearly necessary in verses 29, 376, 399, 512, and 890.
In decasyllabic verses there is invariably a caesura after
the fourth syllable, which is usually stressed and may be
followed by an atonie syllable not counting in the body of
the verse {césure épique). The rhymes are masculine or
féminine, and occur in the proportion of 52 to 48.
Typical examples are :
(■) Pôr
^ Cf. E. Stengel in Grôber's GrunJriss, vol. ii. p. 45.
2 Grass, Adamsspiel, 2nd éd. p. xxvi.
^ The conjecture that the octosyllabic verse originally contained a caeaura
was made long ago by G. Paris in his édition of the Poème de la Passion
and La Vie de Saint Léger, but he believed that in the twelfth century the
caesura was discarded (cf. Remania, i., J872, p. 292; ii,, 1873, p. 295).
Tobler {Le Fers français, translated by Breul and Sudre, Paris, 1885, p. 126),
whilst admitting that many lines of the Poème de la Passion clearly show
a pause after the fourth syllable, contends that this is purely accidentai :
' un produit direct de la nature du vers et du langage, indépendant de
l'intention et de la volonté du poète.' Foerster in his remarks on the first
édition of Grass (note to v. i) implies that he assumes the présence of a
caesura in the octosyllabic verses of the Mystère d'Adam, but he does not
discuss the question. In his édition of Frère Angier's Fie de Saint Grégoire,
an Anglo-Norman poem of the beginning of the thirteent'h century, P. Meyer
singles out fourteen irregular octosyllabic verses, in at least nine of which
the irregularity consists in the suppression of an atonie syllable after the
fourth syllable. (See Romania, xii., 1883, p. 202, and for the présence of a
caesura, A. T. Baker, Mod. Lang. RevieWf vii. pp. 177 f., and xi. pp. 435 f.)
2
3 4
5
6
7 8
9
10
nul
con seil
ne
guer
pisez
le
mien
INTRODUCTION
Iv'
(3)
(4)
I
Tu
2
me
3 4
plasmas
5
e
6
7.
sui
8 9.|'o-
ta fai|tu re
. I
Tôt
2
tens
3 4. —
poez vivre
5
si
6
tu
7 8
tiens mon
9
ser
I
Tu
2
es
3.
mi
4.|-
sijres
5
6
sui
7
ta
8 9|io
cre a|tu
re
lO
78
77
On the other hand verses like thc following (with césure
lyrique) are very rare :
2
cre
4
tes
5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10
si I tost I conjseil | de | gui
vre
540
Quant
In this case the line is almost certainly corrupt.
In the matter of hiatus, enjambement, contraction, elision,
etc., there is little to remark which would not apply to con-
tinental poems of thc same period.^
Words with variable number of s) llables are fairly numerous.
They include :
{a) ely ele usually monosyllabic, e.g, 15, 488 ; but in 356
counting as two syllables.
{Jt)) or y ore, which occurs very frequently before consonants ;
in most cases it is monosyllabic, but disyllabic in 212, 316,
397, 624.
{c) cume, cum, which counts as two syllables as an adverb
or a préposition, e.g. cume grant peine 372 ; cume laron 810,
cumme reies 864. As a conjunction it is monosyllabic, e.g.
537> 539. 650, 670, etc.
{d) oncore, oncor, which has three syllables in 480, but only
two in 172, 489. Elsewhere it is followed by a vowel.
{e) onCf onquesy which represents one or two syllables accord-
ing to the requirements of the mètre, e.g. one syllable in 304,
915 ; two syllables in 327, 373, 741, etc. The same remarks
apply to doncy donques.
1 Note, however, that unstressed e in hiatus (printed «) occurs frequently
(25 instances), e.g. lo, ii, 33, 48, 59, 93, etc. Enjambement (despite
Grass's statement to the contrary) is fairly common } the chief examples
are 47-48, 147-49, 277-78, 285-86, 469-7°» 653-54, 665-66, 677-78,
715-16, 878-79.
Ivi LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
VI. Date, Origin, and Authorship
The foregoing study of the language and versification
justifies the conclusion that the Mystère d^ Adam was originally
written in England about the middle of the twelfth century.
Although at so early a date the speech of the Normans settled
in England diiFered little from that of their kinsmen remaining
on the Continent, the text shows ail the Anglo- Norman
characteristics to a marked degree.
With référence to the date, Grass ^ and Suchier^ hâve
shown that the rhymes après : relais 677 : 78 prove that the
Mystère c^ Adam wras written subséquent to the Computus of
Philippe de Thaun (11 21-1 135), where e only rhymes with
ai when the latter is followed by a group of consonants ;
but that, on the other hand, our text is oldcr than the
Chronicle of Jordan Fantosme (i 174-1183), who already
assimilâtes verbs in -<?;>, e.g. aver^ to verbs of the first conjuga-
tion, whereas in the original version of Adam -eir and -er
are always carefuUy distinguished (sec p. xlix (^)). The date
of composition undoubtedly falls within the period 1146-
II 74, and the probabilities are that it comes much nearer the
earlier than the later lirait. Luzarche had previously arrived
at a similar conclusion.^ J. Vising has recently proposed the
date II 50-1 160.*
The majority of critics agrée with the opinion of Suchier
and Grass, and among others G. Paris,^ Creizenach,^ etc. A
few, however, like Palustre,^ Foerster,^ Grôber,^ and Pollard,^^
^ 2nd éd. p. Ixix.
' F. 697 of his review (see ' Bibliography ').
^ Cf. Luzarche, Adam^ p. vii.
* Zeitichr.f.franx. Spr. u. Lit. xxxix., 19 12, p. i.
° Hist. de la litt.fr. au moyen âge, 4th éd., Paris, 1909, p. 262.
' In Camb. Hist. Engl. Lit. v. p. 39.
' L. Palustre, Adam, Paris, 1877, p, iv.
8 Cf. Grass, 2nd éd. p. Ixix.
^ According to GrOber it was written in Western Normandy in the
latter half of the twelfth century {Grundriss, ii. pp. 712-13).
*• Engliih Miracle-Plays, pp. xviii, xxi.
INTRODUCTION Ivii
hold that thc work belongs to the Continent. Othcrs,
like Chambers,^ Ward,^ and Voretzsch,^ préserve a more or
less ncutral attitude.
On one point, however, complète unanimity has been
secured ; ail scholars are agreed that the original passed
through the hands of one, if not several, Anglo-Norman
scribes before it reached Southern France (probably in the
early part of the thirteenth century) and was finally tran-
scribed, perhaps from a worn player's copy, as Grass suggests,
in the unique Tours MS.
Of the author we know nothing, not even his name, and
yet his work enablcs us to draw certain conclusions about
him. That he was a clcrk in Holy Ordcrs, either priest or
monk, we cannot doubt. Only one in such a position could,
at so early a date, hâve presumed to compose what practically
araounted to a liturgical service. He further reveals himself
by his insistence on the regular payment of tithes, fîrst-fruits,
and other customary dues to which the Church laid claim.^
French was his native tongue, and nothing in the play
indicates that he even understood English. He bclonged to
the race of the Conqiieror, and his fellow-countrymen were
numerous both in cathedral chapters and wealthy monasteries.
For the times in which he lived, he was a fair Latin scholar,
and well read in Church literature. But he was more than
ail this. He was a poet and a dramatist. In the religious
drama, a genre which more than any was destined soon to
become the spécial province of literary mediocrities, he
occupies a unique position by combining dramatic instinct
with artistic taste. In the conception and delineation of
character, the skilfui handling of dialogue, in clearness and
1 ' Even if the writer was an Anglo-Norman clerk, the play must hâve
been written for performance in France, I doubt if it was evcr actually
played or finished ' (Chambers, ii. p. 71).
2 ' To the twelfth century belongs the famous Norman-French — perhaps
Anglo-Norman — play oî Adam'' [Cavtb. Hist. Engl. Ut. v. p. 11).
2 EinfUhrung in d. Stud. d. altf. Lit., 2nd éd., Halle, 191 3, p. 140.
* Cf. vv. 599-606.
Iviii LE MYSTÈRE D*ADAM
conciseness of language, he compares favourably with the
best playwrights of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,
not excepting Adam de la Halle h'mself. His work shows
mature talent, and we may reasonably assume that it was
not his coup ci! essai. Sepet even suggests that he may hâve
been some ' professor of holy pageantry,' a combination of
clerk and minstrel. At ail events, says Sepet, * il rimait à
ravir, en vers de huit pieds et de dix. Je ne jurerais pas
qu'il n'eût commis, avant et après son drame, quelque chanson
de geste, quelque poème d'aventures, et peut-être, qui sait ?
dans sa jeunesse, avant d'avoir pris les ordres, alors qu'il
fréquentait les cours de tel ou tel Abélard, quelque chanson
leste et railleuse, quelque malin et mordant fabliau.' ^
^ Prophètes, pp. 115 f.
LE MYSTÈRE D'ADAM
[20'] Ordo Representacionis Ade.
Constituatur paradisus loco eminenciori ; circumponantur 1
cortine et panni serici^ ea altitudine^ ut persone^ que in
paradiso erunt^ possint videri sursum ad humeros ; serantur
odor'iferi flores et frondes 'y sint in eo diverse arbores et fructus 5
in eis dependentes^ ut amenissimus iocus videatur. Tune
veniat salvator indutus dalmatica^ et statuantur coram eo '
Adam [et'\ Eva. Adam indutus sit tunica ruhea^ Eva vero
muliebri vestimento albo^ peplo serico albo^ et stent ambo coram
figura ; Adam tamen propius^ vultu composito^ Eva vero 10
parum démission ; et sit ipse Adam bene instructus^ quando
respondere debeat^ ne ad respondendum nimis sit velox aut nimis
tardus. Nec solum ipse^ sed omnes persone sic instruantur^
ut composite loquantur et gestum faciant convenientem rei^
de qua loquuntur ,• [20^] et^ in rithmis^ nec sillabam addant 15
nec dernant^ sed omnes firmiter pronuncient^ et dicantur seriatim
que dicenda sunt. ^icunque nominaverit paradisum^ re-
spiciat eum et man'i demonstret. Tune incipiat lectio :
For abbreuiations see ' Bihliography. Additions to the text hâve been
encîosed in square brackets [ ]. 2. que in paradiso fuerint MS. J. humeris
MS. servantur MS. ; sernantur L. j. amenissemus MS. vidcratur MS.
6. choram MS. lo. instructis MS. 12. aud MS. personne sint MS. j
emendation suggested by T ; personae [quaecunque] sint F. ij. pronunciente
2^ LE MYSTERE D ADAM
In PRINCIPIO CREAVIT DEUS CELUM ET TERRAM.
^a finita chorus cantet : 'Rj.
20 Formavit tgitur dominus.
^0 finit 0 dicat Figura ;
I Adam ! ^ui respondeat : Sire !
figura. Formé tei ai
De lum de terre.
ADAM. Bien le sai.
FIGURA. Je [t'ai dune aime vivant,
Si] t'ai formé a mun semblant,
S A m'imagene t'ai fait de tere.
Ne me devez ja moveir guère.
ADAM. Ne ferai ge, mais te crerrai,
Mun créât ur obeïrai.
FIGURA. Je t'ai dune bon cumpainun :
10 Ce est ta femme, Evain a nun j
Ce est ta femme e tun pareil ;
Tu li deiz estre bien feeil.
Tu aime li, e ele aint tei.
Si serez bien andui de mei.
15 El seit a tun comandement,
E vus ansdous a mun talent.
De ta coste l'ai [jo] formée,
N'est pas estrange, de tei est née.
Jo la plasmai dreit a ton cors ;
20 De tei eissit, non pas de fors.
ig. corus MS. i [A !] Sire 5 j [bels] Sire F. Fourme te MS. 2. De
limo terre MS. ; emcndarion suggested by G. Ben MS. 3. Missing Une qf
MS. suppUed by S. 4. fourme MS. 5. ma imagene MS. feit MS. 6.
moi devez ja mais mover MS. j G proposes : me deiz ja mais, 7. Nen frai
ge MS. 8. obérai MS. 10. Eva MS. ; emendation of G. noun MS.
12. Tu le devez MS.-, emendation cf G. ben fiel MS. 13. aime lui e
ele ame MS. 14. ben ambedui de moi MS. 15. Ele soit MS. 16.
ambedeus AfS. 17. fourmee M5.j [si] l'ai fourmee 5. iq. Emendation of G i
Jo la plasmai de ton cors MS. ; 5 proposes : [Car] jo la p.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM 3
Tu la governe par raison ;
Nen ait entre vus ja tençon,
Mais grant amor, grant conservage :
Tel seit la lei de mariage.
FIGURA ad Evam. [Or] parlerai a tei, Evain. 25
Ço garde tu, nel tien en vain :
Si vols faire ma volenté,
En ton cuer garderas bonté.
Honore meî, ton creator,
E mei reconuis a seignor. 30
A mei servir met ton porpens,
Tute ta force e tôt tun sens.
Adam aimfî, e lui tien chier :
Il est marid, tu sa mullier ;
A lui seies tôt tens encline, 35
Nenjssir de sa discipline ;
Lui serf e aime par bon corage ;
Car ço est dreiz de mariage.
Se tu li fais bon adjutoire,
Jo te mettrai od lui en gloire. 40
EVA. [^i""] Jol ferai, sire, a ton plaisir,
Ja ne voldrai de rien issir ;
Tei conustrai a [mon] seignor,
Lui a pareil e a forçor ;
Jo lui serrai tôt tens feeil, 45
De mei avra [mult] bon conseil ;
22. N'ait MS. \ emendation of S i G proposes to read : ja [mais]. 24. soit
MS. manage MS. \ corrected by G. 25. A tei parlerai MS. } emendation
of G ; A tei parlerai [or] 5 ; A tei [re]par]erai T. 26. tenez MS. ; tien
G. 27. vos MS. 28. cors MS. 29. Moi aime honor MS. ; Honore
moi G^. 30. moi Af5. 31. moi AfS. 32. Tut A/5. 33. t,kn MS. 34.
et tu sa MS. ] G proposes to suppress sa. 35. soies MS. 37. aim par bon
corare M6'. j G proposes io suppress hon or to read lui aimée serf. 38. droiz de
manage MS. 39. tu le MS. bone G. 40. lifter mettrai e Aas been erased
in MS. 41. frai MS. 42. Ja nen MS. 43. Toi MS. 44. paraille e a
forzor MS. 45. feel MS. 46. moi MS. [mult] bon P, G ; [maint] bon 6\
4 LE MYSTERE D ADAM
Le ton plaisir, le ton servise
Ferai, sirë, en tote guise.
Tune Figura vocet Jdam propius^ et attentius ei dicat :
Escote, Adam, e entent ma raison !
50 Jo t'ai formé, or te dorrai tel don :
Tôt tens poez vivre, si tu tiens mon sermon,
E serras sains, ne sentiras friçun.
Ja n'avras faim, por bosoing ne bevras,
Ja n'avras freit, ja chalt ne sentiras.
55 Tu iers en joie, ja ne te lasseras j
E en déduit ja dolor ne savras.
Tute ta vie démèneras en joie ;
Tuz jors serras, ta vie n'iert pas poie ;
Jol di a tei, e voil que Eve l'oie,
60 Se ne l'entent, donc a folor s'apoie.
De tote terre avez la seignorie,
D'oisels, de bestes e d'altre manantie.
A petit ues seit qui vus porte envie,
Car tôt ii mond iert en vostre baillie.
En vostre chois vus met e bien e mal :
Ki ad tel dun, n'est pas liez a pal.
Tut en balance or pendez par égal.
Créez conseil, seiet vers mei leal.
47. In MS. pleisir is ivrittcn by tke same hand over servise struck out.
48. Frai MS. 50. itel don MS. 52. nen sentiras friczion MS. 53.
bcveras MS. 54. naveras frait MS. ; the lait ivord h ivritten above the
liney o-ver faim par bo, struck out. 55. lassaras MS. 57. demeneuras (u
faded) MS. 58. Tut jors serras {last s struck out) nen estrat pas poie
MS. ; Toz jorz iert granz, si nen estrat pas poie F 5 Toz jorz vivras, ta vie
n'iert pas poie G. 59. toi MS. Eva MS. 60. donc safoloie MS. i
donc est une fol' oie S. 62. des bestes MS. 63. A petit vus soit qui
vus porte e. MS. ; Aprivoiez qui vus [en] porte e. G ; qui vus [ja]
porte e. 5. 64. vus iert encline MS. 5 corrected by S. 65. vostre cors
MS. j vostre cois T. 66. cil nen est mis a val G 5 the MS. has agal
but a dot /;as been inserted beloiv g and p ivritten abo've it. 67. ore pendiez
MS. 68. que soiet MS.
65
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 5
Laisse le mal, e si te prend al bien.
Tun seignor aime e si od lui te tien, 70
Por nul conseil ne guerpisez le mien :
Si tu le fais, ne peccheras de rien.
ADAM. Granz grâces rend a ta bénignité,
Ki me formas e me fais tel bunté,
Que bien e mal mez en ma poësté. 75
En tei servir métrai ma volenté.
Tu es mi sires, jo -sui ta créature ;
Tu me plasmas, e jo sui ta faiture.
[21^] Ma volenté ne serrad ja si dure
Qu'a tei servir ne"seit tote ma cure. 80
Tune Figura manu demonstret paradisum Ade^ dicens :
Adam !
ADAM. Sire !
FIGURA. Dirrai tei mon avis.
Vei cest jardin !
ADAM. Cum ad nun ?
FIGURA, Paradis.
ADAM. Mult par est bel.
FIGURA. Jel plantai e asis.
Qui i maindra, [cil] serra mis amis.
Jol tei comand por maindre e por garder. 85
Tune mitteteos in paradisum^ dicens :
Dedenz vus met.
ADAM. Purrum i nus durer ?
FIGURA. A toz jorz vivre, rien n't poëz duter ;
Ja n'i porrez mûrir ne engruter.
69. pren M5. 70. e ovec lui Af5. 71. gerpisez Af5. 73. Grant iTf5.
76, en toi MS. ; after métrai the word met kas been crossed eut in MS. 80.
qa toi MS. soit MS. 81. Afler Sire the follcwing ivords ha-ve been struck
out : F. ( = Figura) mon avis te voil dire, toi MS. 82. Veez MS. ; corrected
by G. 84. A' ( = Adam) précèdes this Une in MS. [cil] serra G ; [si] serra
5. 85. toi MS. 24. After dicens the folloiving ivords hâve been struck out :
de cest paradis jardin toi dirrai la nature, de nul délit ni trouerez faiture.
nest bien al monde que couoit criature.
}
O LE MYSTERE D ADAM
25 Chorus cantet : R
Tulit ergo domïnm horninem.
Tune figura maman extendeî venus paradisum^ dieens :
De cest jardin tei dirrai la nature :
90 De nul délit n'i troverez falture \ —
N'est bien al mond, que coveit criature,
Chescons n'i poisset trover a sa mesure —
Femme de home nen i avra irur,
Ne hom de femme verguine ne freiir.
95 For engendrer n'i est hom peccheor,
N'a l'emfanter femme n'i sent dolor.
Tôt tens vivras, tant i ad bon estage :
N'i porra ja changier li toen eage.
Mort n'i crendras, ne te ferra damage.
100 Ne voil qu'en isses, ici feras manage.
Chorus cantet : R
Dixit domtnus od Adam,
30 'iunc monstr et figura Ade ar[22^]hores paradisi^ dieens:
De tôt cest fruit poez mangier por déport,
Et ostendat ei vetitam arbore m et fructus ejus^ dieens :
Cest tei defent, n'en faire altre comfort.
Se en manjues, sempres sentiras mort ,
iM'amor perdras, mal changeras ta sort.
105 ADAM. Jo garderai tôt ton comandement,
Ne jo ne Eve nen istroms de nïent.
Por un sol fruit se pert tel chasement,
Dreiz est que seie defors jetez al vent.
90. De nul délit is crossed eut in AIS. trourez MS. 91. monde with e
deleted in MS. covoit MS. 93. [Ne] femme G. ni avra AÏS. 94. Ne
home MS. 96. Ne a MS. 98. Ni porras ja chanjer [in the last luord a
dot is placed ahove the c) MS. \ emendation of S. 100. After Ne foUo'ws
nul itruck out in MS. que isses MS. 101. manger par MS. 102. Cost
tei MS. 103. Sen tu en m. MS. j se tu'n m. M. 106. nen eisseroms MS.
108. Droiz est que soie MS.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 7
Por une pome se jo guerpis t'amor,
Ja en ma vie comperrai ma folor. ii
Jugiez deit estre a lei de traïtor
Qui se parjure e traïst son seignor.
Tune vadat figura ad eccîesiam^ et Adam et Eva spacientur^
honeste délectantes in paradiso. Interea demones discurrant
per plateas^ gestum facientes competentem ; et ventant vi-
cissim juxta paradisum^ ostendentes Eve fructum vetitum, 35
quasi suadentes eiy ut eum comedat. Tune veniat Diabolus
ad Adam^ et dicet ei :
Que fais, Adam ?
ADAM. Ci vif en grant déduit.
diabolus. Estes tu bien ?
ADAM. Ne sent rien que m'enoit.
DIABOLUS. Poet estre mielz.
ADAM. Ne puis saveir cornent.
DIABOLUS. Vols le saveir ?
ADAM. Nïent n'iert mon talent.
DIABOLUS. Jo sai cornent.
ADAM. E mei qu'en chalt ?
DIABOLUS. [E] por quei non ?
ADAM. Rien ne me valt.
DIABOLUS. Il te valdra.
ADAM. Jo ne sai quant.
DIABOLUS. Nel te dirrai pas en curant.
ADAM. Or le me di.
DIABOLUS. Non ferai pas,
Ainz te [22^] verrai del preier las.
109. gerpis MS. iio. ^ue ja en ma vie par sens ne par f. A/S. ;
paierai por f. G; Ja n'ier mais lié etc. S. m. doit estre a loi MS.
112. Que si MS. J2. ecclessiam . . . Evam MS. 36. commedat MS.
114. Estas MS. Ne sen MS. ; sai G. 115. saver MS. iî6. Vols le tu
sa ver MS. j [E] vols le tu 5. Bien en iert mon t. MS. ; Ja mes n'iert
mon t. G 5 Jo n'en ai nul t. T. 117. cornet MS. moi que chalt MS.
121. frai MS. 122. preer MS.
"5
8 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
ADAM. N'ai nul bosoing de ço saveir»
DiABOLUS. Kar tu ne deiz nul bien aveir.
125 Tu as li bien, n'en sez joïr.
ADAM. E jo cornent ?
DIABOLUS. Voldras l'oir ?
Jol te dirrai priveement.
ADAM. [Ço voil jo bien] seiirement.
DIABOLUS. Esculte, Adam, enten<^ a mei !
130 Ço iert tun pru.
ADAM. E jo l'otrei.
DIABOLUS. Creras me tu ?
ADAM. Oïl, mult bien.
DIABOLUS. Del tut en tut ?
ADAM. Fors d'une rien.
DIABOLUS. De quel chose ?
ADAM. Jol te dirrai,
Mon Creator nen ofFendrai.
135 DIABOLUS. Criens le tu tant ?
ADAM. Oïl, por veir,
Jo l'aim e criem.
DIABOLUS. N'est pas saveir.
Que te poet faire ?
ADAM. E bien e mal.
DIABOLUS. Molt es entré en fol jornal,
Quant creiz mal t'en poisse venir.
,40 N'es tu en gloire ? ne poez morir.
ADAM. Deus le m'a dit, que je murrai.
Quant son precept trespasserai.
123. sauçir (e ivritten ouer 9 by same hand) MS. 124. aver MS. 125.
ne «eiez MS. 126. A/ter oïr j Âas been erased MS. 127. priveiment MS.
128. Missing ivords after F; [Oïr le voil] 5; no gap in MS. 129.
Escult MS. moi MS. 132. de une MS. 134. ne MS. 135. par veir
MS. 139. cr,eiez mal mal te p. MS. 140. Nez en gloire 5 ; N'es en
gloire G. nen poez MS.
DiABOLUS. Quel est cist grant trespassement ?
Oïr le voil senz nul entent.
ADAM. Jol te dirrai tôt veirenlent. i45
Il me fist un comandement :
De tuit le fruit de paradis
Puis jo mangier, ço m'a apris,
Fors de sul un ; cil m'est defens,
Celui ne tucherai de mains. 150
DIABOLUS. Li quels est ço ?
Tune erigat manum Adam^ et ostendat ei fructum vetitum^
dicens :
ADAM. Veiz le tu la ?
Celui très bien me devea.
DIABOLUS. Sez tu por quei ?
ADAM. Jo certes non.
DIABOLUS. Jo t'en dirrai ja l'achaison :
[23"^] De l'altre fruit rien ne li chalt, 155
Et manu ostendat ei fructum vetitum^ dicens Ade : 4°
Fors de celui qui pent en hait :
Ço est le fruit de sapïence,
De tut saveir done scïence. .
Se le manjues, bon le feras.
ADAM. E jo en quei ? 160
DIABOLUS. Tu le verras.
Ti oil serrunt sempres overt,
Quanque deit estre t'iert apert,
Quanque vuldras portas parfaire.
Mult le fait bon vers tei atraire :
144. sens MS. 148. manger MS. 149-50. cil m'est defeis, Celui ne
tucherai des meis F ; cel me defent ; Cel ne tucherai de nient 5 ; cil
nen est sains, Celui ne tucherai de mains G. 151. Veez MS. 152. dévia
MS. 153. quoi MS. 154. Jo te d. MS. 40. Adam MS. 159. Se
tu le manjues bon le fras MS. j Se tul manjus, etc. G. bien feras F. 163.
porras faire [after porras the luord vivre hai been itruck out) MS. ; emenda-
tion of S ; porras [tu] faire G.
10 LE MYSTERE D ADAM
165 Manjue le, si feras bien,
Ne crendras pois tun deu de rien ;
Ainz serras puis del tut son per :
Por ço le [fruit] quidat veer.
Creras me tu ? Gustc dcl fruit !
170 ADAM. Nel ferai pas.
DiABOLUS. Or oi déduit !
Nel feras ?
ADAM. Non.
DIABOLUS. Kar tu es soz ^
Encor te membrera des moz.
Tune recédât diabolus^ et ïhit ad alios demones^ et fac'iet
discursum per plateam^ et facta aliquantula mora^ hylaris
et gaudens redilït ad te?nptandum Adam^ et d'icet e'i :
Adam, que fais ? changeras sens ?
Es tu encore en fol porpens ?
175 Jol te quidai dire l'autr'ier,
Deus t'a fait ci sun provendier,
Ci t'ad mis por mangier cest fruit.
As tu donques altre déduit ?
ADAM. Oïl, nule rien ne me fait.
180 DIABOLUS. Ne munteras ja mes plus hait ?
Molt te porras tenir por chier,
Quant deus t'a fet sun jardenier.
Deus t'a fait gardein de son ort,
Ja ne querras altre déport ?
i3^ Forma il tei por ventre faire ?
Altre honor te v^oldra atraire.
165. fras M5. 167. Aienz M5. 168. Emendutkn of G; por iço 5;
por ço le [te] P. 170. Noël frai MU. Or oez MS. 5 Oëz S. 172. Encore
MS. 41, ficiet MS. 173. changeras tun sens M5. 175. lautrer MS.
176. provender MS. 178. donch altre MS. 179. Jo oil ne me f. MS.\
correctcd by S and F," jo ne voil nul, rien . . . G. 183. feit MS.
185. toi MS. 186. honor ne te MS. :, emendation of G; honor net M.
Ajter voldra tke ivords il faire ^ave been struck eut in MS.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM II
Escute, Adam, entent [23^] a mei,
Jo te conseillerai en fei,
Que porras estre senz seignor,
E seras per del creatur. 190
Jo te dirrai tute la summe :
Si tu manjues [de] la pome,
Tune eriget manum contra paradisum :
Tu régneras en majesté,
Od deu poez partir poësté.
ADAM. Fui tei de ci ! '95
DiABOLUS. Que dis, Adam ?
ADAM. Fui tei de ci ! tu es sathan ;
Mal conseil dones.
DIABOLUS. E jo, cornent ?
ADAM. Tu me voels livrer a torment,
Mesler me vols o mun seignor,
Toiir de joie, mettre en dolor. 200
Ne te crerrai, fui tei de ci !
Ne seies ja mais tant hardi,
Que tu ja vienges devant mei !
Tu es traîtres e sanz fei.
Tune tristis et vultu demisso recedet ah Adam et ihit usque ad 45
portas inferni^ et colloquïurn habebit cum aliis demoniis.
Post ea vero disciirsum fac'iet per populum ; dehinc ex parte
Eve accedet ad paradisum^ et Evam leto vultu hlandiens
sic alloquitur :
[diabolus]. Eve, ça sui venuz a tei. 205
EVA. Di mei, sathan, e tu pur quei ?
DIABOLUS. Jo vois querant tun pru, t'honor.
187. Escut Aïs. moi MS. 191. Hurrai MS. 195. dit MS. 198.
Adam omitteJ in MS. 200. Tolir de joi Tj Tolir joie G. 201. te MS.
202. soies Af 6'. 203. viengcz devant n\o'\ MS. 204. foi MS. 46. collo-
quiam MS. 48. accedœt MS. letu MS. 205. Eva MS. toi MS. 206.
moi MS. quoi MS. 207. tun honor MS.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
EVA.
DIABOLUS.
2IO
EVA.
DIABOLUS.
EVA.
215 DIABOLUS.
EVA.
DIABOLUS.
EVA.
DIABOLUS.
EVA.
220 DIABOLUS.
EVA.
d;abolus.
EVA.
DIABOLUS.
225
Ço dunge deu !
N'aiez pour !
Mult a grant tens que j'ai apris
Toz les conseils de paraïs :
Une partie t'en dirrai.
Ore comence, e jo l'orrai.
Orras me tu ?
Si ferai bien,
Ne te curecerai de rien.
Cèleras mei ?
Oïl, par fei.
lert descovert !
Nenil [24*^] par mei.
Or me mettrai en ta créance,
Ne voil de tei altre fiance.
Bien te poez creire a ma parole.
Tu as esté en bone escole.
Jo vi Adam, mais trop est fols.
Un poi est durs.
Il serra mois.
Il est plus dors que n'est emfers.
Il est mult francs.
Ainz est mult sers.
Cure ne voelt prendre de sei ;
Car la prenge seveals de tei.
Tu es fieblette e tendre chose,
E es plus fresche que n'est rose ;
209. jo ai MS. j y suppreaes que j que jo apris A. 212, Ore le c. MS. ;
Or le c. G, 213. frai MS. 214. curcerai MS. ; curucerai A. 215.
Cèleras men MS. ; cèleras m'en L, B, R, and V \ creras me tu G. foi MS.
216. 1er descoverz F. TCio\ MS. 218. tax MS. 219. pois creire a ta Af5.
223. que n'est nus fers F and R 5 que nen est fers M and A'; C suggests
re'versing the order of -w, 223-224. 224. serf MS. 225. Cure nen MS.
soi MS. 226. The a of la is crossed by a diagonal stroke in MS. sevals de
toi MS. j seveU G j seveaus R.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
13
Tu es plus blanche que cristal,
Que neif que chiet sor glace en val ; 230
Mal cuple em fist li criator :
Tu es trop tendre e il trop dur ;
Mais neporquant tu es plus sage,
En grant sens as mis tun corrage.
Por ço fait bon traire a tei. 235
Parler te voil, ore i ait fei.
N'en sache nuls.
EVA. Kil deit saveir ?
DiABOLus. Neïs Adam.
EVA. Nenil, por veir.
DIABOLUS. Or te dirrai, et tu m'ascute !
N'a que nus dous en ceste rote, 340
E Adam la, qui ne nus ot. "^
EVA. Parlez en hait, n'en savrat mot.
DIABOLUS. Jo vus acoint d'un grant engin,
Que vus est fait en cest jardin.
Le fruit que deus vus ad doné, 245
Nen a en sei gaires bonté ;
Cil qu'il vus ad tant défendu.
Il ad en sei [mult] grant vertu.
En celui est grâce de vie.
De poësté, de seignorie, 250
De tut saveir, [e] bien e mal.
EVA. Ouel savor a ?
DIABOLUS. Celestïal.
A ton bel cors, a ta figure.
Bien covendreit tel aventure,
2^0. glaceegal/î. 231. culpe A/5. 235. Por iço B and T. atraire yf.
toi MS. 236. In MS. E (=:Eva) precedei ore i, and D ( = Diabolus) />rf«i/«
Une 237. 237. Ki le <ieit saver AIS. 23S. par moi MS. 241. quil MS.
242. molt MS. 244. gardin MS. 246. soi MS. 248. soi grant MS.
250. e de seignorie MS. 251. saver MS. 253. beU MS. 254. Afier
covendreit tlu luords a ta rtgure hax-e ban struck eut.
H
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
255 Q^^ tu fusses dame del mond,
Del soverain e del parfont,
[24'] E seûses quanque [est] a estre,
Que de tuit fusses bone maistre.
EVA. Est tel li fruiz ?
DiABOLUS. Oïl, por veir.
50 Tune diligenter intuebitur Eva fructuîu vetitum^ quem diu
intuitûy die et :
260 Ja me fait bien sol le veeir.
DIABOLUS. Si le manjues, que feras ?
eva. e jo, que sai ?
DIABOLUS. Ne me crerras !
Primes le prend e Adam done.
Del ciel avrez sempres corone,
265 Al Creator serrez pareil.
Ne vus purra celer conseil ;
Puis que del fruit avrez mangié,
Sempres vus iert le cuer changié ;
O deu serrez [vus], sanz faillance,
270 D'égal bonté, d'égal puissance.
Guste del fruit !
EVA. J'en ai regard.
DIABOLUS. Ne creire Adam !
EVA. Jol ferai [tart].
?
DIABOLUS. Quant [le feras tu] ?
257. seusez MS. Emendation of T ; qu'est e deit estre F; quanque
a [a] estre C. 258. del tuit G. fuissez MS. 259. par voir MS. jo-jr.
quo fliu eius intuitu dicens_; a/ter eius t/ie ivord introitu hai been struck out
in MS. 5 emendation of R. 260. veer MS. 261. Si tu le mangues MS. } si
tul G, B, /?, anJ V. 263. pren e a Adam le d. MS. Ay Ry and C suppress
e a, 264. avérez MS. 267. avérez MS. 269. O deus MS. j Cume deus
S, By and V. 270. De égal ... de égal MS. 271. Jo nai MS. ; Jo'n B ;
Jo n'ai or Je le retard G. 271-272. Guste del fruit! N'aies regard De
creire Adam! F. 27}. No gap in MS. ] emendation of Gj Quant [sera
fait]? Eva: [Sul] S.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
15
EVA. Suffrcz mei
Tant que Adam seit en requei.
DiAnoLUS. Manjue le, n'aiez dutancc, 275
Le demorer serreit etnfance.
Tune recédât dtabolus ab Eva^ et ibit ad infernum. Adam
vero veniet ad Evam^ moleste fcrens quod cum ea locutus sit
diabolus^ et dïcet e'i :
Di mei, mullier, que te querreit
Li mal satan ? que te voleit ?
EVA. Il me parla de nostre honor.
ADAM. Ne creire ja le traïtor ! 280
Il est traître, bien le sai.
EVA. E tu cornent ?
ADAM. Car l'asaiai.
[eva]. De ço qu'en chah ?
[adam]. Nel dei vceir.
[eva]. Il te ferra changier saveir.
ADAM. Nel fera pas, car nel crerai 2S5
De nule rien, tant que l'asai.
Nel laissier mais venir sor tei,
[25''] Car il est mult de pute fei.
Il volst traïr ja son seignor,
E sei poser al deu halçor ; 290
Tel paltonier qui ço ad fait.
Ne voil vers nus ait nul retrait.
Tune serpens art'ificiose compositus ascendet juxta stipitim 55
arboris vetite; cui Eva propius adhibebit aurem^ quasi
273. moi MS. 274. soit en rccoi MS. 275. n'aies G. 276. serrât A/6'.
277. moi muiller Mi\ qucrroit Af5. 281. E [=^'Ev2l) précèdes hicnla. in ALS.
282. A ( = Adam) : E tu cornent E ( =: Eva) : Car io sai oi MS. ; car oï l'ai A
and C. 2S3. chat MU. me del veer MS. j cmcndation of S ; or dcl veeir F j
Eva : De ce qu'en chaut ? Mais del veoir /?. 284. changer savcr^'I^S. 285.
E ( = Eva) : Nel fra MS. 287. A ( = Adam): Nel laisser ... toi AÏS.
288. foi MS. 290. E soposer al des halzor MS. ; emendation by G ; E soi
poser el des halzor S j al dois R. 292. voil que vers vus MS. ) voil qu'a
VU8 G. jj. ascendit MS, j6. vctito MS. proprius adhibcbebit MS.
i6
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
60
305
310
ipsius ascultans consilïum. Dehinc accipiet Eva pomum^
porrigct Ade. Jpse vero nondum eum accipiet^ et Eva
dicet ei :
Manjue, Adam ! ne sez que est.
Pernum ce bien que nus est prest.
Est il tant bon ?
Tu le savras ;
Nel poez saveir sin gusteras.
J'en duit.
Lai le !
Né ferai pas.
Del demorer fais tu que las. .
E jol prendrai.
Manjue ! tien !
Par ço savras e mal e bien.
J'en manjerai premirement.
E jo après.
Seûrement.
Tune comedat Eva partem pomi^ et dicet Ade :
Gusté en ai ; deus ! quel savor !
Une ne tastai d'itel dolçor !
D'itel savor est ceste pome. . . .
De quel ?
D'itel ne gusta home.
Or sunt mi oil tant cler veant,
Jo semble deu le tuit puissant ;
Ouanque fu [e] quanque deit estre
Sai jo trestut, bien en sui maistre.
Manjue, Adam, ne faz demore,
Xu le prendras en mult bone orc.
jS. eam A/6". 294. co bien AfvS". 295. saveras AiS. 296. saverAf5. 297.
Jel duit F 5 Jel dot R. fai le B. nen frai MS. 298. fai MS. 299. jo le
Aïs. ten MS. 300. saveras A/5. 301. E ( = Eva) : Ju en MS. ; Jo'n G. 60.
commeilat MS. 303. quele MS. 304. sguor o-vcr ivJiich dolc haibcev iiritten
iuMS. 306. nenA/5. 307. mes AiS. 309. doitAf^. 312. bon ore Af 5.
295 ADAM.
EVA.
ADAM.
EVA.
ADAM.
EVA.
ADAM.
EVA.
300
ADAM.
EVA.
ADAM.
EVA.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM I7
Tune acciptet Adam pomum de manu Eve^ dicens :
ADAM. . Jo te crerrai, tu es ma per.
EVA. Manjue \ [tien !] n'en poez doter.
Tune comedat Adam parîem pomi ; quo comesto cognoscet
statîm peccatum suum [25^] et inclinabit se^ [«/] non possit
a populo Vîderi^ et exuet sollempnes vestes^ et induet vestes
pauperes consutas fnliis ficus^ et maximum simuîans doîorem gj
tncïpiet lamentationem suam :
[a DAM.] Las ! peccheor, que ai jo fait ? v^
Ore sui mort sanz nul retrait.
Senz nul rescus [or] sui jo mort,
Tant est cheeite mal ma sort.
Mal m'est changiee m'aventure ;
Mult fu ja bone, or est mult dore. 320
Jo ai guerpi mun criator
Par le conseil de maie uissor.
A ! las ! pecchable, que ferai ?
Mun criator cum atendrai ?
Cum atendrai mon criator, 325
Que j'ai guerpi por ma folor ?
Unques ne fis tant mal marchié ;
Or sai jo ja que est peCchié.
Oi ! mort ! por quei me laisses vivre ?
Que n'est li mond de mei délivre ? 330
Por quei faz encombrier al mond ?
D'emfer m'estoet tempter le fond.
313. Jo ten crerra MS. ; Je t'en R. 314. Manjue n'en poez redoter A
and C, 62. commedat Af5. pomum M5. 66. incipiens Af6'. 315. Allas
pecchor MS. j A ! las ! peccheor qu'ai G aud B ; pechiere R. Beyond this
point each 'verse occupiei a sepaiate Une in MS. 316. Or MS. 317. Senz nule
rescuse sui mort F and B. 318. chaite MS. ; cheaite G. 319. change ma
MS. 322. After le the ivcrd mal has heen stiuck out in MS. mal uxor AIS.
323. Allas MS. frai MS. 326. jo ai MS. 327. Unches MS. 329. Ai
mort por quoi MS. ; emendation cfG ; aï ! mort, por quoi me lais -S and B j por
queim laisses AI. 330. monde ile moi MS. 331. quoi faz encombrer MS.
15 LE MYSTERE D ADAM
En emfer serra ma demure,
Tant que vienge qui me sucure.
335 En emfer si avrai ma vie,
Dont me vendra iloc aïe ?
Dont me vendra iloec socors ?
[lô""] Ki me trara d'ites dolors ?
Por quei vers mon seignor mesfis ?
340 Ne me deit estre nul amis.
Non iert nul [hom] que gaires vaille.
Jo sui perdu senz nule faille.
Vers mon seignor sui si mesfait,
Ne puis od lui entrer em plait ;
345 Car jo ai tort e il ad dreit.
Deu ! tant serai ci maleeit !
Qui avrad mais de mei memorie ?
Car sui mesfet au rei de gloire.
Au rei del ciel sui si mesfait,
350 De raison n'ai vers lui un trait.
Nen ai ami ne nul veisin,
Qui me traie del plait a fin.
Qui preierai ja qui m'aït.
Quant ma femme si me traït,
355 Qui dex me dona por pareil ?
Ele me dona mal conseil.
Aï ! Eve !
Tune aspiciet Evam uxorcm suam^ et dicet :
Femme desvee !
335. si urai ma MS. ; avrai maie 5 and B. 338. Tcp part of s in kef
eut off, could thcrcfore bc rcad itel. 341. nul que gaires [me] vaille B. 344.
Nea puis contre lui AIS. ; cmenJation of G ; N'os contre lui 5 und B. 345.
droit MS. 346. tant a ci mal plait MS. ; emcudation of G i tant a ici
raalvais plait B. 347. Chi . . . moi MS. 348. roi MS. 349. roi MS.
351. Ne n'ai B. 352. trai MS. 353. Qui preirai jo ja MS. 354. ma
trait MS.:, cmcndation of S. 356. Ht me dona [le] mal G. 357. ai femme
dcauec MS. j emcndatwn of G.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM IÇ
Mal fus tu unques de mei née !
Car arse fust iceste coste
Qui m'ad mis en si maie poste ! 360
Car fust la coste en fu brudlee,
Oui m*ad basti si grand meslee î
Quant celé coste de mei prist,
[26'] Por quei ne l'arst e mei oscist ?
La coste ad tut le cors traï, 365
E afolé e mal bailli.
Ne sai que die ne ke face ;
Si ne me vient del ciel la grâce,
Ne puis estre gieté de paine :
Tel est li mais que me demaine. 370
Aï ! Eve ! Cum a maie ore,
Cume grant peine me curt sore,
Quant onques fustes mi pareil !
Or sui perriz par ton conseil.
Par ton conseil sui mis a mal, 375
De grant haltes ce mis a val.
N'en serrai trait par home né,
Si deu nen est de majesté.
Que di jo, las ? Por queil nomai ?
Il m'aidera ? Corocié l'ai. 380
Ne me ferat ja nul aïe.
For le filz qu'istra de Marie.
Ne sai de nul prendre conrei,
Quant a deu ne portâmes fei.
358. Mal fussez vus de moi MS. j emendation of G ; [Ja] mar fussez
vus ... 5 ; Mare fussez vus . . . B. 359. Car fust arse MS. 360.
poesteAfS. 363. Quant deus la coste F. moi M5. 364. mo\ MS. n'oscist
F, 365. tra MS. 367. Ne sa . . . ken face MS. 369. Nem MS. 371.
mal MS. 372. cur"t MS. ; Cum grant peine me curut B. iJl. onches
MS. fusses G. parail MS. 374. Orc MS. 376. sui mis MS. 377.
4)ox MS. 379. por quoi le MS. 380. me aidera MS. coroce MS. 382.
que MS. 383. nus . . . conroi MS. 384. foi MS.
20
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
3^5 Or en seit tôt a deu plaisir,
N'i ad conseil que del morir !
Tune incipiat chorus : R
Dum deamhularet.
70 ^0 dîcto^ veniet figura stola[m] habens^ et ingredietur
paradisum drcumspiciens, quasi quereret uhi esset Adam.
Adam vero et Eva latehunt in angulo paradisi^ quasi sua m
cognoscentes 7niser[i'\am^ et dicet Figura ;
Adam, u es ?
Tune ambo surgent stantes contra figuram^ non tamen omnino
75 erecti^ sed ob verecondiam sui peceati aliquantulum eurvati
et multum tristes^ et respondeat Adam ;
Ci sui, beal sire,
Repost me sui ja por ta ire,
E por ço que [jo] sui tut nuz.
Me sui ici si embatuz.
figura. Kë as tu fet ? cum as erré ?
Qui t'a toleit de ta bonté ?
Que as tu fet ? por quei as honte ?
Cum entrerai od tei en conte ?
3Ç5 Tu nen aveies rien l'autr'ier,
Dont tu deûses vergugnier,
Ore te vei mult triste e morne :
Mal se joïst qui si sojorne.
ADAM. Tel vergoine ai, sire, de tei,
400 [Que jo me ceil].
390
385. soit Af5. 77. circumspicienteB Af5. 387. ubi es MS. suijoMS.
After beal the ivord sui hai been struck out in MS. 388. me sui ici por t'ire
T. 389. por iço que sui G. 390. sui jo ici MS. ; sui jo ci 5. In front of
thii Une and in front of "^g^ f ( = Figura) Aas been struck out and ivritten at the
end of the Une; Uiewise a ( = Adam) in 393. 394. toi MS. 395. ne navois
MS. 396. (iuses vergunder MS. ; emendaiio'i of G. 397. Or te voi MS. ;
Or te voi [jo] G. 398. senjoist qui ensi MS. '^ cmendation of G ; s'esjoïst
qui si F\ s'enjot qui cnsi 5. 399. ai jo . . . toi MS. 400. Addition of
F 5 Parler nen 03 S. quoi MS.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM 21
FIGURA. E tu por quel ?
ADAM. Si grant honte mon cors enlace,
Ne t'os veeir, [sire], en la face.
FIGURA. Por quei trespassas mon dévié ?
As [i] tu gaires gaainnié ?
Tu es mon serf, e jo ton sire. 405
ADAM. [Jo] ne te puis pas contredire.
FIGURA. Jo te formai a mon semblant :
Por quei trespassas mon comant ?
[27''] Jo te plasmai dreit a m'ymage :
Por ço me fesis cel oltrage ? 410
Mun defens tu pas ne gardas,
Delivrement le trespassas.
Le fruit manjas, dunt jo t'ai dit,
Que jol t'aveie contredit.
Por ço quidas estre mon per ? 415
Ne sai si tu voldras gabber.
Tune Adam manu\_m'] extendet contra figuram^ post ea contra
Eva\m\ dicens :
La femm.e que tu me donas,
Ele fist prime icest trespas ;
Donat le mei e jo manjai :
Or m'est vivre tornez a gwai. ^20
Mal acointai icest mangier :
Jo ai mesfait par ma mollier.
FIGURA. Ta mollier creïs plus que mei,
Manjas le fruit sanz mon otrei ;
402. veer en Af S. j emendaî'ion qf S. 403. deuQJ ivit/i e ivritten abo-ve in
MS. 404. gainnie MS. 406. Nel te MS. j emendation of G. 409. toi
MS. ma ymage MS. 410. Por quei S. me fis MS. 411. defens un pas MS.
413. jo toi MS. 414. jo tavoie M5. ; emtndaticn of G . 418. El fist primes
G ; La pome prist a grant trespas F. 419. moi . . . mangai MS. 420.
mest avis que tornez est agwai MS.\ emendation of G. 421. acontai MS.
422. Jo 3ui mesfait Gf. moiller MS, 423. moiller creistes plus que moi
MS. 424. otroi MS.
22 LE MYSTÈRE D*ADAM
425 Or te rendrai tel gueredon :
La terre avrat maleïçon,
U tu voldras ton blé semer,
El te faldrat al fruit porter ;
lert maleeite soz ta main,
430 Tu la cotiveras en vain.
Son fruit a tei deveerat,
Espines e chardons rendrat,
Changier te voldra ta semence,
Maleeite iert por ta sentence.
435 [28^^] Od grant travail, od grant hahan,
Tei covendra mangier ton pan ;
Od grant painë, od grant suor.
Vivras tu [des or] noit e jor.
Tune figura vertet se contra Evam^ et mînaci vultu et d'tcet :
Et tu, Eve, maie mullier,
440 Tost començas de guerreier,
Poi tenis mes comandemenz !
£VA. Ja m'engingna li mais serpenz.
FIGURA. Par lui quidas estre mon per ?
Seûs tu ja bien deviner ?
445 Or ainz aviez la maistrie
De quanque deit estrë en vie :
Cum l'as tu ja si tost perdue !
Or te vei triste e mal venue j
As [i] tu fet gaain ou perte ?
450 Jo te rendrai [bien] ta déserte,
425. itel guerdon MS. 427. Ou MS. 428. Il MS. 429. Ele est
maleite sor MS. -^ E maleeite iert G. 430. le MS. 431. toi devendrat
MS. ; emendation of G. 432. Espines e chardons te MS. ; Espins e
chardons te F; Chardons espines te G. 433. Changer MS. 434. Malait
MS. ] Maleaite G. 436. Toi MS. manger MS. 438. Emendation of S ;
tu des or trestot jor G. 439. mala muiller MS. 440. Tost me . . .
guerreer MS. 442. li mal MS. 444. Ses tu ja bien MS. ; emendation of
G ; Ses tu ja [si] bien 5. devinejr MS. 445. einz MS. avoies G. 446.
doit MS. 448. voi MS. 449. gain MS. 450. Jo toi MS.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 23
Jo t'en donnai por ton servise ;
Mal te vendra en tote guise.
En dolor porteras emfanz,
E em paine vivront lor anz.
Tes emfanz en dolor naistront, 455
E en anguisse finerunt.
En tel hahan, en tel damage,
As mis [e] tei e tun lignage ;
Toit ceals qui [ja] de tei istront,
Li toen pecehié déploreront. 460
[28''] Et respondebit Eva^ dicens : 80
EVA. Jo sui mesfaite, ço fu par [mon] folage,
Por une pome soffri si grant damage
Qu'en paine met [e] mei e mon lignage.
Petit aquest me rent grant traûage.
Si jo mesfis, ço ne fu grant merveille, 465
Ouant li serpenz suduist ma foie oreille.
Mult set de mal, ne semble pas ôeille j
Mal est bailliz qui a lui se conseille.
La pome pris, or sai que fis folie,
Sor ton defens ; de ço fis félonie ! 470
Mal en gustai ; or sui de tei haïe :
Por poi de froit mei covient perdre vie.
Tune minabitur Figura serpentin dicens :
E tu, serpent, iers maleeit !
454. vivront tôt lor M5. j emendation of G; Em paine ... 5. 455.
Util MS. 456. E en grant anguisse AfS. ; emendation cf F and S. 458. toi
MS. 459. Toit iceals qui de F. toi MS. 460. pecche ploreront MS.
461. Go sui mesfait MS. ço fu por [mon] f. G ; iço fu . . . 5. 462.
soffrirai MS. ; emendation of S. 463. (^ue en . . . moi MS. 465-66.
Si jo mesfis, ne fu merveille grant, ^uant trai moi le serpent suduiant
MS. ; emendation of S and G. 467. nen MS. 469. porno MS. 469-70.
G punctuates : fis folie 5 Sor ton defens de ço. The MS. has folienie abcve
iv/iich o has been ivritten. 471. toi MS. 472. moi covient perdre la
vie MS. -y emendation of F i me vient ... 5. Si. serpentis MS. 473.
serpet soiez maleit MS.
24 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
De tei reprendrai bien mon dreit.
475 Sor ton piz te traîneras,
A tuz les jors que ja vivras.
La puldre iert tut dis ta vïande
En bois, en plain, [e si] en lande.
Femme te portera haine,
480 Oncore t'iert maie veisine.
Tu son talon aguaiteras,
Celé te sachera le ras ;
Ta teste ferra d'itel mail
Qui te ferra mult grant travail,
.g- Encore en prendra bien conrei
Cum [se] porra vengier de tei.
[2q^] Mal acointas tu sun traïn,
El te fera le chief enclin ;
Oncor raïz de lui istra,
.QQ Qui tes vertuz tost confundra.
Tune figura expellet eos de paradiso^ dicens :
Ore issez hors de paradis,"
Mal change avez fet de païs.
En terre vus ferez maison :
En paradis n'avez raison j
495 N'i avez rien que chalengier.
Fors [en] istrez sen recovrier ;
N'i avez rien par jugement,
Or pernez aillors chasement.
Fors issez de bonaUrté ;
Ne vus fait mais faim ne lastc ;
500
474. De to . . . droit MS. j Te reprendrai jo de bon droit G. 476.
viveras MS, 480. te iert MS. 482. Çele te marchera el pas 5. 4^3. de
itel MS. 4S4. L readi on initead 0/' niult ; ivord faded in MS. travil AIS.
486. toi MS. 487. traïr G. 488. Ele te fra le chief enclin MS. ; chief
périr G. 489. Oncore MS. 490. Qui toz tes vertuz confundra MS. ; Qui
tes vertuz te c. F ; Qui totes vertuz c. G. 491. isse MS. 493. frez MS.
496. isterez sen recoverer MS. 499. en issez AÏS. 500. lassete AdS.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 2$
Ne vus fait mais dolor ne paine
A toz les jors de la semaine.
En terre avrez malvais sojor,
Après morrez al chief del tor ;
Despois qu'avrez gustee mort, 505
En emfer irrez sanz déport.
Ici avront les cors eissil,
Les aimes en emfern péril.
Satan vus avra en baillie.
N'est hom que vus en face aïe, ^lo
Par cui seiez vus ja rescos,
Se mei ne prend pitié de vus.
Chorus cantet : R
In sudore vultus tut.
[iç''] Interi??i veniet angélus albis [vestibus] indutus^ ferens 85
radientern glad'ium in manu^ quem statuet figura ad portant
paradisiy et die et et :
Gardez mei bien le paradis.
Que mais n'i entre icist faidis,
Qu'il n'ait mais poeir ne baillie 515
Ne de tochier li fruit de vie ;
O celé spee qui flambeie,
Si li defent très bien la veie.
Cum fueri[n']t extra paradisum^ quasi tristes et confusi^
incurvati erunt solo tenus super talos suos, et figura manu
eos demonstrabit^ versa fade contra paradisum ; et chorus 90
in ci pi et : R
Ecce Adam quasi unus.
^10 finito^ fig^^o. regredietur ad ecclesiam.
Tune Adam \_habebit'] fossorium 'et Eva rastrum, et
504. de tor MS. 505. avérez guste MS. 511. soiez Af5. 512. moi
nèn prenge pite MS. 513. moi MS. 514. faudis MS. 516. tocher MS.
517. flamboie {the o has been luritten abtyve the Une aho in voie of next
Une) MS. 518. défendez , . . voie MS. ço. demonstrans A/5, corum
incipiet MS. çj. finito et MS. ç^. rostrum AIS.
26 I.E iMYSTÈRE d'aDAM
95 incipie[n]t colère terram et seminabunt in en triticu?)i.
Postquain se?nînaverint^ ibunt sessum in loco aliquantuluiu^
tanquam fatigaii labore^ et flebiliter respicient sepiiis
paradisum^ percucientes pectora sua. Intérim veniet
diabolus et plantabit in cultura eorum spinas et tribulos et
loo abscedet. Cum venient Adam et Eva ad culturam sua?n
et viderint ortas spinas et tribulos^ vehementi dolorc
percussi.^ prosternent se in terra [30''], et résidentes percucicnt
pectora sua et femora sua^ dolorem gestn fatentes ; et
incipiet [Adam] lamentacionem suam :
A ! las ! chaitif, tant mal vi unques l'ore,
520 Q^^ n^^s pecchiez me sunt [si] coru sore,
Que jo guerpi le seignor qu'hom aiire ;
Qui requerrai ja mes qu'il me socore r
T05 Hic respiciat Adam paradisum^ et ambas manus suas elevabit
contra eum^ et caput pie incHnans dicet :
Oi ! paradis ! tant [par es] bel maneir !
Vergier de glorie, tant vus fet bel veeir !
525 Jetez en sui por mon pecchié, por veir ;
Del recovrier tôt ai perdu l'espeir.
Jo fui dedenz, n'en soi gaires joïr,
Creï conseil qui me fist tost partir ;
Or m'en repent, dreit est qui m'en aïr,
530 Co est a tart, rien ne valt mon sospir.
U fu mon sens, que devint ma mémoire,
Que por satan guerpi le rei de gloire ?
Or me travail, ne m'en valt adjutoire ;
Li mien pecchié iert escrit en estoire.
97. fatigari MS. loj. gestum fate|tcntc3 MS. 519. Allas MS.
unchesM6'. 520. pccchez M5. 521. que hom M^. 522. requerra A</i\ ;
emenJation of 5. loà. capud . . . dicens MS. 523. Entendation of G ;
Aï! aï! paradis bel maner 5. maner Af5. 524. veer A/5. 525. par mon
. . . par voir MS. 526. recovrer . . . espoir MS. 528, chi MS. 529.
droit MS. 530. nen MS. 531. Ou MS. 532. roi MS. 533. mcn
travail {second a ivritten above fhe Une) si men valt mult petit MS. ; emtnda-
tion of S. 534. en tstoire escrit MS.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM 27
Tune manum contra Evalm] levabit^ que alïquantulum
alto erit remota^ et cum magna indignacione moyens caput
dicet ei :
Oi ! maie femme, plaine de traïson ! 535
Tant m'as mis tost en [grant] perdicïon,
Cum me tolis le sens e la raison !
[30"^] Or m'en repent, ne puis aveir pardon.
Eve dolente, cum fus a mal délivre,
Quant tu creïs si tost conseil de guivre ! 540
Par tei sui mort, si ai perdu le vivre ;
Li toen pecchié [en] iert escrit eu livre.
Veiz tu les signes de grant confusion ?
La terre sent nostre maleïçon ;
Forment semâmes, or i naissent chardon ; 545
[Forment suâmes, or a mal gueredon].
De nostre mal veiz le comencement :
Ço'st grant dolors ; mais grainior nus atent.
Menez serrums en emfer sanz entent j
Ne nus faldra ne peine ne forment. 550
Eve chaitive, que t'en est a vïaire ?
Cest as conquis, donez t'est en duaire.
Ja ne savras vers home bien atraire.
Mes a raison serras tôt tens contraire.
Tuz cels qu'istront de [la] nostre lignée, 555
Del toen forfait sentiront la haschiee ;
Tu forfesis, a toz ceals est jugiee.
Mult tardera par qui ele iert changiee.
loç. dicens MS. 536. Emendaticn of F; [I]tant S. 538. aver MS.
540. guant creutes ... de la g. MS. } emendation of G ; Quant tu creus M.
541. toi M5. û -written o-ver t in MS. 542. eiscrit en M5. 543. Veez
tu le MS. 544. la nostre MS. 546. There is no gap in MS. ; additional
verse suggested by S. 547. nostre malveiste le MS. j emendation of S. 548.
Ce est nostre grant MS. 549. Menez en MS. la co entent MS. ; emenda-
tion of G. 550. poine MS. 553. saveras MS. 555. que MS. 556.
hascee MS. 557. forfis MS. eals est jugce MS. 558. tarzera {not clenr)
MS. por qui il iert changée MS.
28 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
iio Tune respondeat EvA ad Adam :
Adam, bel sire, mult m'avez blastengiee,
560 Ma vilainnie retraite e reprochiee.
Si jo mesfis, j'en sufFre la haschiee j
Jo sui copable, par deu serrai jugiee.
Jo sui vers deu e vers tei mult mesfaite,
Ma forfaiture mult iert longe retraite.
565 Ma culpe est grant, mes pecchiez me dehaite.
[3r] Chaitive sui, de tut bien ai sufFraite.
Nen ai raison que vers deu me défende,
Que peccheriz culpable ne me rende.
Pardonez mei, kar ne puis faire amende ;
570 Si jol poeie, fereie par offrende.
Jo peccheriz, jo lasse, jo chaitive !
Por [mon] forfet sui vers deu si eschive ;
Mort, car me prend ! Ne sufFre que jo vive !
Em péril sui, ne puis venir a rive.
575 Li fel serpent, la guivre de mal aire.
Me fist mangier la pome de contraire.
Jo t*en donai, si quidai por bien faire ;
Del toen pecchié onc ne te pois retraire.
Por quei ne fui al criator encline l
580 Por quel ne ting, sire, ta discipline ?
Tu mesfesis, mes jo sui la racine ;
De nostre mal longe en est la mescine.
Le mien mesfait, ma grant mésaventure,
Compera chier la nostre engendreore.
559. mave blastenge MS. j m'as tu G. 560. reproche MS. 561. jo
en M5. hascee Af5. 562. jugée M5. 563. toi mult mesfeite MS. 564. Le
mien mesfait MS. ; emendation of G ; Del mien forfait F. longes G.
569. Pardonez le moi MS. 570. jo poeie jo frai MS. \ emendation of G.
572. sui jo MS. j emendation of G. 573. que me over -which car /las been
•written in MS. pren ne sufFret MS. 578. E mis toi en pecchie dont
ne MS. j emendation of G. ^yg. sui MS. ] emendation of F. 580. tien jo
MS. 582. long nest MS. j [molt] longe est G.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 2g
Li fruiz fu dulz, la paine est [grant e] dure. 5^5
Mal fu mangiez, nostre iert la forfaiture.
Mais neporquant en deu est ma sperance ;
D'icest mesfait car tôt iert acordance :
Deus me rendra sa grâce e sa mustrance.
Nus gietera d'emfer par [sa] pussance. 590
7unc veniet diabolus^ tt très vel quatuor diaholï cum eo^
déférentes in manibus chatenas et vincula ferrea^ quos
ponent in colla Ade et Eve. [31^] Et quidam m inpellent^
alii eos trahent ad infernum ; alii vero diaboli erunt iuxta
infernum obviam venientibus^ et magnum tripudium inter "S
se facient de eorum perdicione i et singuli alii diaboli illos
venientes monstrabunt^ et eos suscipient et in infernum
7nittent ; et in eo facient fumum magnum ex[s']urgere^ et
vociferabuntur inter se in inferno gaudentes^ et collident
caldaria et lebetes suos^ ut exterius audiantur. Et^ facta ^^o
aliquantula mora^ exibunt diaboli discurrentes per plateas ;
quidam vero remanebunt in inferno.
Deinde veniet Chaym \_et'\ Abel. Chaym sit indutus rubeis
vestibuSj Abel vero albis^ et colent terram preparatam ; et^
cum aliquantulum a labore requieverit^ alloquatur Abel ^^s
Chaym fratrem suum blande et amicabiliter, dicens ei :
Frère Chaym, nus sûmes dous germain,
E sûmes filz del home premerain :
Ce fu Adam, la mère ot non Evain ;
De deu servir ne seom pas vilain.
Seum tôt tens subject al criator, 595
585. Emendation of G; dgre ivith u ivritten abot-e Q in MS. 586.
fraiture MS. -y emendation of T. 588. char MS. tost F. G puis a full
stop at the end of this and the next -verses. 589. s'amistance T. 590,
Gieter nus voldra MS. -^ emendation of P; D'emfer gieter nos voldra par
p. 5. 112. vinctos MS. ferreos MS. iij. inpellunt (a ivritten above u)
MS. IT4. trahi^nt MS. 116. faciunt MS. lij. suscipiynt (e ivritten
above y) MS. 120. caldaria could be read as caldana in MS. I2l. dis-
cucientes MS. 122. infernum MS.
30 LE MYSTERE D ADAM
Ensi servum que conquerroms s'amor,
Que nos parenz perdirent par folor.
Entre nos [dous] si seit bien ferme amor.
Si servum deu que li vienge a plaisir ;
600 Rendom ses dreiz, ne seit riens del tenir.
Se de bon cuer le voloms obeïr,
[32''] N'avront pour nos aimes de périr.
Donum sa disme e tute sa justise,
Primices, dons, ofFrendes, sacrifice ;
605 Si del tenir nos prent ja coveitise,
Perdu serroms en emfer sen devise.
Entre nos dous ait grant dilectïon j
N'i seit envie, n'i seit detractïon ;
Por quei avreit entre nus dous tençon ?
610 Tote la terre nos est mise a bandon.
Tune respiciet QnAYMfratrem suum Abel^ quasi subsan[nan]Sy
et dicet et :
Beal frère Abel, bien savez sermoner,
Vostre raison aseeir e mustrer ;
Vostre doctrine s'est qui voille escoter,
En poi de jorz avra poi que doner.
615 Disme doner ne me vint onc a gre.
Del toen aveir poez faire ta bonté,
E jo del mien ferai ma volenté ;
Par mon mesfait ne serras tu dampné !
De nus amer nature nus enseigne,
620 Entre nos dous nen ait nul que se feigne.
596. E si G. 598, soit bien ferm MS. 600. droiz nen soit AIS.
602. Naveront nos aimes pour MS. ; emendation of S ; N'avront nos aimes
poiir [onc] G. 604. Primices offrendes dons MS. ; emendation ofG. 605.
prent acoveitise MS. 607. deus MS. 608. soit [hii) MS. 609. .avra MS. ;
emendation of F. 610. mis a AIS. 612. asaer MS. ; asseeir G. 613. qsi
est quil MS. ; emendation of T and M ; qui la voille F. 615. vient G.
onches MS. 616. aver MS. 617. frai MS. 620. nait MS.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
CHAIM.
ABEL.
CHAIM.
ABEL.
CHAIM.
ABEL.
Oui entre nus comencera bargaigne,
Très bien l'achat, ke dreiz est qu'il, s'en pleigne.
Iterum alloquatur Ahel fratrem suum Chaym ; cum micius
solito respond[er]it^ dicet : 130
ABEL. Chaïm, bel frère, entent a mei !
Volentiers, ore di de quei ?
[32''] Ço est ton pru. 625
Tant m'est plus bel.
Ne faire ja vers deu revel !
Nen aies envers lui orguil !
Jo t'en chasti.
Jo bien le voil.
Crei mon conseil, aloms offrir
A dampne deu por lui plaisir. 630
Si est vers nos [tôt] apaiez,
Ja ne nus reprendra pecchiez,
Ne sor nus ne vendra tristor :
Mult fait bon porchacier s'amor ;
Aloms offrir a son alter 635
Tel don qu'il voille regarder ;
Preom lui qu'il nus doinst s'amor,
E nus défende noit e jor.
Tune respondebit Chaim, quasi placuerit eï consilium Ahel^
d'îcens :
Bel frère Abel, mult as bien dit,
Icest sermon as bien escrit, ^4©
621. comencera la guerre MS. ; emendation of S. 622. Très bien la chat
Af5. j Cil iert chastiez C droiz Af5. 1 2Ç. ({uormciMi MS. 623. moi M5.
624. ore de de quoi MS. ; or di moi de quoi G. 625. Co est de ton MS. ;
emendation of G. 626. Nen fai ja MS. 5 emendation of F and S. 627. aez
envers (en being ivritten abwe the Une) MS. ; N'aies vers lui [ja mais] G.
629. Créez MS. 631. Sil est MS. -^ emendation of G. i c/" apaiez ivritten
abo've the Une in MS. 632. nus prendra MS. ; emendation of G. 634.
porchacer MS. 635. altier MS. 637. que il MS. 638. défende de mal
noit MS. j De mal défende F; E nus défende bien tôt jor G. 640. sermon
cum en escrit S ; sermon [ou 1'] as escrit or ou est escrit G.
32
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
E jo crerai bien ton sermon.
Alom offrir, bii
Qu* offriras tu ?
Alom offrir, bien est raison.
ABEL. Jo un agnel,
Tuit le meillor e le plus bel
645 Que porrai trover a l'ostel ;
Cel offrirai, ne ferai el ;
[E] si lui offrirai encens.
Or vus ai dit tôt mon porpens.
[33'] Tu qu'offriras ?
CHAIM. Jo de mon blé,
650 Itel cum dex le m'a doné.
ABEL. Icrt del meillor !
CHAIM. Nenil, por veir ;
De cel ferai jo pain al seir.
ABEL. Tel offrende n'est acceptable
[A dampne deu].
CHAIM. Ja est ço fable. ' '
655 ABEL. Riches hom es e mult as bestes.
CHAIM. Si ai.
ABEL. Or conte totes testes,
E de totes done la disme !
Si offre la a deu meïsme,
Offre la lui de cuer entier,
5^ Si recevras [mult] bon luier.
Feras le tu ?
CHAIM. Oëz furor !
[La disme offrir sereit folor :]
643. Quoi MS. 646. Tcel offrirai nen frai MS. 647. Lui offrirai alsi
encens G. 649. que .'Vf5. 651. voir Af5. 652. soir iVf5. 653. n est pas Af S.
654, /Vu gaf- in Aïs. ; Puniz en iers F ; E por quei non ? 5 j Ço n'est assez G.
656. Por quei ne contes toit par testes MS. 5 emendation cf G ; Or les contez
par testes F; Çhit ne contes par testes 5. 657. donez las dismes MS.
658. Si offriras a deu maimes MS. } emendation of G. 659. Off'rez le lui de
bon cuer MS. ; emendation of T. 660. luer MS. 661. Fras le tu ensi MS,
Or oez furor MS. ; emendation of S ; Or oi G. 662. Emendation of S.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM 33
De dis ne remaindront que noef.
Icist conseil ne valt un oef.
Alom offrir chescons por sei 665
Que il voldra.
ABEL. E jo Totrei.
Tune ibunt ad duos magnos lapides qui ad hoc erunt parati.
Alter ah altero lapide erit remotus^ ut cu?n aparuerit
figura^ sit lapis Ahel ad dexteram eius, lapis vero Chaim 135
ad sinistram. Ahel offeret agnum et incensum^ de
quo faciet fumum ascendere. Chaym of\_2f'^''^feret
maniplum messis. Apparens itaque figura benedicet
munera Ahel et munera vero Chaym despiciet. Unde
post ohlacionem^ Chaym torvum vultum geret contra Ahel^ 140
et^factis ohlacionihus suis^ ihunt ad loca sua. Tune veniet
Chaym ad Ahel^ volens educere eallide [eum] foras ut
[eum'j oceidat^ et dicet et :
Bel frère A bel, issum ça fors !
ABEL. Por quei ?
chaim. Por déporter nos cors
E reguarder nostre labor,
Cum sunt creû, s'il sunt em flor. 670
As prees puis [fors] en irrums,
Plus legier après en serroms.
ABEL. JMrrai od tei, u tu voldras.
CHAIM. Or en vien donc, bon le feras.
ABEL. Tu es mi frères li ainez, 675
Jo ensivrai tes volentez.
664. vealt MS. 665-66. Alom offrir de ca chescons par soi quil voldra.
Abel : E jo lotrei MS. ; [que li] offrom chescons par soi [Voldras le tu] ?
Abel : E jo l'otrei S } Alom offrir [tu des encens, Jo de mon ble, co est mon
porpens, Tant] qu'il voldra chescons por soi [Voldras le tu]? Abel : E jo
Totrei G. 134. aparruerit MS. 137. offerret M5. 138. benedicens M5.
669. E por Af5. 671. As prez puis en irrums MS. ; emendation of G.
672. leegier MS. 673. Jo irrai ovec toi ou MS. j emendation of P and G.
674. e bon le fras MS.
34
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
CHAiM. Or va avant, j'irrai après
Le petit pas, a grant relais.
Tune ibunt ambo ad locum remotum
et
quasi
secret uni.
M5
680
uhi Chaim quasi furibundus irruet in Abel voletis cum\
occidere^ et dicet ei : ;
Abel, morz es. |
E jo por quei ? •
Jo me voldrai vengier de tei.
Sui jo mesfait ?
ABEL.
CHAIM,
ABEL.
CHAIM
Oïl, asez
Tu es traîtres tôt provez.
ABEL. Certes non sui.
CHAIM. Dis tu que non ?
ABEL. Une ne ferai jo traïson.
685 CHAIM. [34^] Tu la fesis !
ABEL. E jo cornent ?
CHAIM. Tost le savras.
ABEL. Jo ne l'entent.
CHAIM. Jol tei ferai mult tost saveir.
ABEL. Ja nel porras prover por \ eir.
CHAIM. La prove est près.
ABEL.
690 CHAIM. Jo t'occirai.
ABEL. Deu le savra.
Tune eriget ChaIM dextram rninacem eontra eum^ dieens
Vei ci qui fera la provence.
]/ ABEL. En deu est tote ma fiance.
CHAIM. Vers mei t'avra il poi rnestier.
ABEL. Bien te poet faire destorbier.
Deus m'aidera.
677. jo irrai Al$. 679. quoi MS. 6S0. Jo men ... toi MS. 684.
Unches namai de fere traison MS. ; cmendatkn of G. 685. las fesi-s MS.
686. saveras MS. lentenc MS. 687. Jol toi frai MS. savoir MS. 688,
voir MS. 690. te occirai [refennce mark to ades in the margin) AIS. 691.
Veez ici j^ qui fra la provent ce MS. 693. moi MS. 694. destorber AIS.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
35
CHAIM.
ABEL.
CHAIM.
ABEL.
CHAIM.
ABEL.
Ne [te] porra de mort guenchir.
Del tut me met a son plaisir.
Vols oïr por quei t'oscirai ?
Or le me di.
Jol tei dirrai.
Trop te fesis de deu privé,
Por tei m'a il tôt refusé,
Por tei refusa il m'ofFrende.
Pensez vus donc que nel te rende ?
Jo t'en rendrai le gueredon :
Mort remaindras oi au sablon.
Si tu m'ocis, ço iert a tort,
Deu vengera en tei ma mort.
Ne [te] mesfis, deu le set bien,
Vers lui ne te meslai de rien ;
Ainz dis que fesisses tel faiz,
Que fusses digne de sa paiz ;
[34^] A lui rendisses ses raisons :
Dismes, primices, oblacïons.
Por ço avreies tu s'amor.
Tu nel fesis, or as iror.
Deux est verais
[ui a lui sert.
695
700
705
710
Très bien Fempleie, pas nel pert.
CHAIM. Trop as parlé, sempres morras.
ABEL. Frère que dis ? Tu me minas,
Jo vinc ça fors en ta créance.
CHAIM. Ja ne t'avra mestier fiance.
695. guarir F. 697. quoi te MS. 698. <li por quoi MS. j emcndaticn
cf P and G ; Or di por quoi F. toi MS. 699. te fais MS. 700. toi MS.
701. toi . . . ma MS. 702. Penses tu G. 70Ç. mocies MS. 706. toi
MS. 709. Ainz te . . . fesis MS. -^ emeii.iationo/T; Ainz jo te dis: Faisoms
tel faiz G. 710. fuissez MS. ; (^ue somes digne G. 711. rendisoz MS. j
A lui rendom» totes r. G. 712. Dimes MS. j Dons, primices, o. G. 713.
porrez aver MS. ; Por ço porroms aver G. 714. fais MS. 7 1 6. lemplie MS. ;
Celui em vie pas G. 717. parole M5. 718. Tu m'osciras or Tu menaças G.
715
720
725
36 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
Jo t'oscirai, jo tei défi.
ABEL. Deu pri qu'il ait de mei merci.
Tune Ahel flectet geyiua ad orïentem ; et habebit ollam
eoQpertam pannis suis^ quant pereuciet Chaim^ quasi ipsum
150 Abel occideret. Abel autem iacebît prostratuSy quasi
mortuus.
Chorus cantabit : I^
Ubi est Abel^ frater tuus ?
Intérim ab ecclesia veniet Figura ad Chaym^ et postquam
155 chorus finierit responsum^ quasi iratus dicet ei :
Chaïm, u est ton frère Abel ?
Es tu ja entrez en revel ?
As comencié vers mei estrif ?
Or me mostre ton frère vif !
CHAIM. Que sai jo, sire, u est alez,
S'est a maison u a ses blez ?
[E] jo por quel le dei trover ?
730 Ja nel deveie pas garder.
FIGURA. Que as tu fet ? u l'as tu mis ?
[35'] J^ ^^^ [mult] bien, tu l'as occis.
Son sanc en fait a mei clamor,
Al ciel m'en vient ja la rimor.
73 r Mult en fesis grant félonie,
Maleeit iers tote ta vie.
Toz jorz avras maleïçon :
A tel mesfait tel gueredon.
Mais [jo] ne voil que hom t'occie,
7^0 Mais en dolor dorges ta vie.
721. Jo toi , . . jo toi MS, 722. A deu . . . moi MS. ; A deu pri
qu'ait F. 14g. que percusciet Chaim eam quasi M8. 725. Tu as
comencié vers moi MS. ; Tu començas G. 727. ou A/5, 728. ou MS.
729. quoi Af5. -, le devrai T. 730. dévoie joM5. 731. ^;ien . . . om MS.
733. moi M5. 734. me vint ja la nimor Af6\ ; emendation cf G . 735. fais
MS. 736. Maleit en serras tote MS. ; emendation 0/ G. 737. Tôt . . .
malaiecon MS. 739. que hom te tue MS. j emendation ofG. 740. dorge M,
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 37
Que onques Chaïm oscira,
A set doble le penera.
Ton frère as mort en ma créance,
Grics en serra ta penitance.
Tune figura ibit ad ecclesiam. Fenîentes autem diaboli
ducent Chaim sepius puisantes ad infernum ; Abeî vero
ducent micius.
Tune erunt paraît prophète in loco seereto singu/i\ sieut eis
convenit, Legatur in ehoro lectio : i6o
Vos, INQUAM, CONVENIO, O JUDEI.
Et voeentur per nomen prophète ; et cum proeesseri[n]ty
honeste veniant et propheeias suas aperte et distincte
pronuncient. Veniet itaque primo Abraham, senex cum
barba prolixa^ largis vestibus indutus^ et eum sederit in 165
seamno aliquantulum^ alta voce incipiat propheeiam suam :
Pûssidebit semen tuum portas /«/;7z/[35^]f(îr«;/z suorum^
et in semine \_tuo^ benedieentur oinnes gentes.
Abraham sui, eissi ai non. 745
Or entendez tuit ma raison :
Qui en deu ad bone sperance,
Tienge sa fei e sa créance.
Qui en deu avra ferme fei,
Deus ert od lui, jol sai par mei. 750
Il me tcmpta, jo fis son gre,
Bien acompli sa volenté.
Occire vols por lui mon filz :
Mais par lui en fui contrediz ;
Jol vols offrir por sacrefise : 755
Deu le m'a torné a justise.
742, l'cspenira 6' ; le compera G. 743. enz ma MS. 5 en ta T and G.
i§S. (lucetur MS. 162. Et vocat eum per MS. ; eme'uiation of T. lôj.
tuorum. 745. e issi a non MS. 748. sa fai Af5. 749. Chi ... foi
AfS. 750. moiAi5. 753. volei M5. iils MS. 755. voleie M5.
765
770
38 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
Deu m'a pramis, e bien iert veirs,
Ancore istra de mei tel eirs
Qui veintra tôt ses enemis ;
760 Ensi iert fort e poëstifs.
Lor portes tendra en ses mains :
En lor chastels n'iert pas vilains.
Tel homme istra de ma semence,
Oui changera nostre sentence j
Par cui serra li mond salvez,
Adam de peine délivrez ;
Les genz de tote nascïon
Avront par lui beneïçon.
His dictis^ mod'ico facto ïntervalh^ ve?iient diaboli et ducent
70 Jbraham ad [36"^] infernum.
Tune veniet MoYSES ferens in dextra v'irgam et in sinistra
tabulas. Postquaîu sederit^ dicat propheciaîn suam :
Prophetarn suscitabit deus de f[rût~\ribu5 vestris^ tam-
quam 7ne ipsum audietîs.
Ço que vos di, par deu le vei :
De nos frères, de nostre lei,
Deus resuscitera un homme ;
Il iert prophète, ce iert la somme.
Del ciel savra toit le secrei :
Lui devez creire plus que mei.
Dehinc ducetur a diabolo in infernum. Similiter omnes
prophète.
Tune veniet Aaron, episcopali ornatu^ ferens in manibus
suis virgam eum floribus et fructu ; sedens dicat :
Hee est virga gignens florem
^ui salutis dat odorem.
757. The i ofvtn5 is nvritten abyve the Une in MS. 758. moi MS. 759.
Chi MS. 760. Ensi serra MS. j Si serra G. poetifs MS. 762. E en lor
MS. 766. Adam serra de MS. JJi. dextram MS. 769. voi MS. 770.
loi MS. 771. Voldra deus susciter homme MS. ; emendat'ion of G. -j-ji.
secroi MS. 774. Celui devez croire . . . moi MS.
LE MYSTERE D ADAM 39
Hujus virge dulcis fructus
Nostre mortis terget luctus.
' Iceste verge senz planter 775
Poet faire flors e froit porter.
Tel verge istra de mon lignage,
Qui a satan fera damage :
Qui, sanz charnal engendreûre,
D'home portera la nature. 780
Iço'st fruit de salvacïon,
Cui Adam trarra de prison.
Post hune accédât David, régis insignïis [36"] et diademate
ornatus^ et dicat :
Veritas de terra orta est^ et justicia de celo prospexit. 185
Et enim dominus dabit benignitatem^ et terra nostra
dabit fructum suum.
De terre istra la vérité
E justice de majesté.
Deus [nos] durra bénignité, 785
Nostre terre dorra son blé j
De son fur ment dorra son pain,
Qui salvera les filz Evain ;
Cil iert sire de tote terre.
Cil fera pais, destruira guère. 790
Procédât postea Salomon, eo ornatu quo David processit,
tamen ut videatur iunior^ et sedens dicat :
Cum essetis ministri regni dei^ non recte judicastis^ neque 19°
custodistis legemjusticie^ neque secundum voluntatem dei
ambulastis. [Horrende] et cito apparebit vobis^
quoniam judicium durissimum his qui presunt fiet,
Exiguo enim conceditur misericordia.
778. fra Af5. 779. Chi MS. 780. De home . . . natura MS. 781.
Ico est fruit MS. ; Il nos ferat salvacion G. 782. Adam trarra de [la] p. G.
783. terra MS. 788. le filz MS. 188. quod MS. igo. Cum ceteris
ministri MS. ; emendation of G. içj. in his que MS.
40 LE MYSTERE D ADAM
Judeu, a vus dona dex lei,
Mais vus ne li portastes fei ;
De son règne vus fist baillis,
Car mult estiez bien asis ;
795 Vos ne jujastes par justise,
Encontre deu iert vostre asise j
Ne fesistes sa volenté,
Mult fu grant vostre iniquité.
Ço que fesistes tut parra ;
800 [37^] C^r n^ult dor vengement serra
En cels qui furent li plus hait :
Il prendront toit un malvais sait.
Del petit avra dex pitié,
Mult le rendra esleecié.
805 La prophecie a^'erera,
Quant le filz deu por nos morra.
Cil que sunt maistre de la iei,
Occirunt lui par maie fei.
Contre justise, contre raison
810 Mettrunt le en cruiz cume laron.
Por ço perdrunt lor seignorie,
Que il avrunt de lui emvie.
De grant haltor vendront em bas,
Mult se porrunt tenir por las.
815 Del povre Adam avra pitié,
Deliverat lui de pecchié.
195 Post hune veniet Balaam, senex larg'ts vestibus indutus,
791. loi M^. 792. foi MS. 794. Char Af S. 796. E contre G. 797.
faistes M5; ; aiso •;<)(). 800. Char MS. 801. E cels G. 803. pite MS.
804. les rendra esleeice (i •zvritten ah'j've the Une) MS. 807. loi MS. 808.
foi MS. 809. encontre raison MS. ; Contre drcit e contre raison F ; E
vers justise e vers raison G. 812. Che il auer't de lui em vie MS. j emenda-
tion of F and M i Che il avoient de lui emvie G. 814. G punctuates : por
las; Del. 815. pieté Af S. 816. pecche.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 4I
sedens super asinam ; et veniet in médium et eques dicet
propheciam suam :
■ Orietur Stella ex Jacob ^ et consurget virga de Israël^
et percuciet duces Moah^ vastabitque omnesfilios Seth,
De Jacob istra une steille,
Del fu del ciel serra vermeille ;
E surdra verge d'Israël,
Qui a Moab fera revel, 820
E lor orguil abaissera ;
[37^] Car d'Israël Cristus istra,
Qui ert esteille de clarté :
Tôt ert de lui enluminé.
Les soens feeils bien conduira, 825
Ses enemis toit confundra.
Dehinc accédât Daniel, etate juvenis^ habitu vero senex ; aoo
et cum sederit, dicat propheciam suam^ manum extendens
contra eos a^d] quos loquitur :
Cum venerit sanctus sanctorum^ cessabit unctio vestra.
A vus, Judeu, di ma raison,
Qui vers deu estes trop félon :
Des sainz quant vendra tôt li maires.
Dont sentirez vos granz contraires ; 830
Donc cessera vostre oncïon ;
N'i poëz pas clamer raison.
Ço'st Crist que li saint signifie,
Tuit feeil par lui avront vie.
Por son pople vendra en terre, 825
Vostre gent li ferunt grant guère.
içç. percusciet MS. 8i8. Del feu MS. 819. E vus ducs del pople
Israël MS. ; emendadon of G ; E verge surdra F. 821. lor grouil MS. 822.
Char de Israël xpc istera MS. 823. estoille MS. 825. Les son feel MS.
826. confunderaAf5. 827. Judei M5. 828. Qui envers Af5. %i\. After
donc the ivord sentirez has been struck out in MS. 833. Co est MS. 834.
Tuz cels qui par lui MS. 5 Tuz feels par lui G. 836. frunt MS.
4-2 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
Il le mettront a passïon :
Pgr ce perdrunt lor oncïon.
Evesque n'avront pois ne rei,
840 Ainz périra par els lor lei.
Post hune veniet Abacuc, senex et sedens ; cum incipiet
205 propheciam suam^ eriget manus contra ecclesiam admira-
cionem simuia[n]s et timorem, Dtcat :
Domine^ audivi auditum tuum et timui ; consideravi
opéra tua et expavi. In [38''] medio duum animalium
cognosceris.
De deu ai oïe no vêle ;
Tôt trublee en ai la cervele.
Tant ai esgardee cest' ovre,
Qu'en grant pour li cuer m'en ovre.
845 Entre dous bestes iert veûz,
Par tôt le mond iert coneûz.
Cil de cui ai si grant ^merveille,
Iert demostré par une esteille ;
Pastor le troverunt en cresche,
850 Qui iert trenchiee en piere secche,
U mangêrunt les bestes fain.
Pois se fera as reis certain :
La steille i amerrat les reis,
OfFrende aporterunt tôt treis.
210 Tune ingredietur ] heremias^ ferens rotulum carte in ?nanu^
et dicat :
Judite verbum domini^ omnis Juda^ qui ingredimini
per portas has, ut adoretis deum.
Et manu monstrabit portas ecc/esie.
839. naveront pois ne roi MS. 841. ai oi MS. 842. Tôt en ai truble la
MS. 843. esgarde MS. 844. Que grant MS. ; emendation ofG ; m'en covre
M. S^.^. iert coneuz MS. -j emendation of G. 846, iertcremuz Af5.; (rwe«</fl-
tionofO. 848. The\ûftitt\\\tisivrhtenab(yveth€ lineinMS. 850. trenchie
MS. 851.OUMS. %^z. ûir3.izir2i\iMS.-^ emendation of G. 853. roisMS.
854. Before Offrende the ivord Iloec has heen struck out in MS. trais MS.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM 43
Hec dicit dominus deus exercituum, deus Israël : Bonas 215
facite vias vestras et studia vestra^ et habitabo vobiscum
in loco isto.
Oëz de deu sainte parole, 855
Tôt vus qui estes de sa scole,
Del bon Judé la grant lignée,
Vus qui estes de sa maisniee.
Par ceste porte volez entrer,
[38''] Por nostre seignor aiirer. 860
Li sires del host vus somont,
Deu d'Israël, del ciel amont :
Faites bones les vostres veies,
Seient dreites [si] cumme rejes ;
Seient netz les vostres curages, 865
Que vus ne vienge nuls damages ;
Vostre studie seit en bien.
De félonie n'i ait rien.
Se si le faites, dex vendra,
Ensemble od vus habitera. 870
Li filz de deu, li glorius,
En terre descendra a vos ;
Od vus serra cum hom mortals,
Li sires li celestïals.
Adam trara de [sa] prison, 875
Son cors dorra por raançon.
Post hune veniet YsAlAS ferens librum in manu^ magno
indutus pallio ; et dicat propheciam suam :
Egredietur virga de radïce Jesse^ et flos de rad'ice ejus 220
ascendet^ et requiescet super eum spiritus domini.
858. chi M5. maisnee AfS. 859. donc entrez G. 860. aourer Af5. }
Nostre seignor or aourez G. 862. de Israël del ciel lamont MS. 863. les
vos voies MS. 864. Soient droites cumme raies MS. 865. Soient netz les
voz M5. j li vostre curage G. 866. vus nen M5. nul damage G. 867. soient
MS. 869. Si ensi M.S', } emendation of G. 870. ovec vus M5. 873. Ovec
vus . . . homme MS. 874. le celestiaU MS. 876. rançon MS.
44
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
880
885
890
895
Or vus dirrai merveillus diz :
Jessé fera de sa raïz
Verge issir qui fera flor,
Qui ert digne de grant unor.
Saint espirit l'avra si clos,
[39'"] Sor ceste flor iert sun repos.
Tune ex\_s']urget quidam de sinagoga^ dispuians cum Ysa'ta^
et dïcet e'i :
[jUDEUs] Or me respond, sire Ysaïe,
Est ço fable u prophecie ?
Que est iço que tu as dit ?
Truvas le tu u est escrit ?
Tu as dormi, tu le sonjas ?
Est ço
a certes u
a gas
YSAIAS.
JUDEUS.
YSAIAS.
JUDEUS.
YSAIAS.
JUDEUS.
YSAIAS.
JUDEUS.
Ço n'est pas fable, ainz est tut veir.
Or le nus fai donques veeir.
Ço que ai dit est prophecie.
En livre escrite ?
Oïl, de vie.
Nel sonjai pas, ainz l'ai veii.
E tu coment ?
Par deu vertu.
Tu me semblés viel redoté.
Tu as le sens [très] tôt trublé.
Tu me semblés devineor,
Sez bien garder al mireor ;
Or me gardez en ceste main,
877. Ore MS. 878. fera creistre raiz G. 879. Verge en istra qui fra
flor {the ivord flor u ivritten above fruit ivhich is crossed out) MS. 881.
esspirit M5. 882. Sor iceste MS. Instead of sun the MS Aas j strokes of
ivhich the top part is struck off. 222. Ysaiam et dicit MS. 883. Ore me
respon MS. Ysaias MS. 884. ou M5. 886. ou est MS. ; G places a
note of interrogation after tu. 888, on MS. 889. voir MS. 890. Ore
le nus faites donches veer MS. 892. En livre est escrit MS. ; En
livre est cest G. 897. semblés viel meur MS. } correction suggested by T.
898. Tu ivritten in the margin in MS. ses . . . miror MS.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
45
900
Tune ostendet ei manum suam :
Si j'ai le cuer malade u sain ?
YSAïAS. Tu as le mal de félonie.
Dont ne garras ja en ta vie.
JUDEUS. Sui jo malade ?
YSAïAS. Oïl, d'errur.
JUDEUS. Quant en garrai ?
YSAïAS. Ja mes nul jor.
JUDEUS. Or comence ta devinaille. 905
YSAïAS. Ço que jo di nen iert pas faille.
JUDEUS. Or nus redi ta visïon,
Si ço est verge u baston,
E de sa fior que porra nestre ;
Nos te tendrom puis por [un] maistre, 910
E ceste generacïon
Escutera puis ta lecçon.
YSAïAS. Or escutez la grant merveille,
Si grant n'oït [ja] mais oreille ;
Si grant ne fu onc mais oïe, 915
Des quant comença ceste vie :
Ecce virgo concipiet in utero et parîet filïum^ et 225
vocabitur nomen ejus Em[m']anuhel.
Près est li tens, n'est pas lointeins,
Ne tardera, ja est sor mains,
Que une virge concevra,
E virge un filz emfantera. 920
Il avra non Emanuhel,
Message en iert saint Gabrïel.
La pucele iert virge Marie,
Si portera le fruit de vie,
900. cor ... ou MS. 903. Judei : Sui jo donc malades MS. 904.
Judei : — a nul MS. 905. Judei : Ore comence de ta MS. 906. di niert
MS. After pas the ivord fable has been crossed ouf in MS. 908. ou MS.
912. Escuterai AfS. 914. noi mais Af5. 915. ncn (u MS. 916. comenza
MS. 918. tarzera MS, 919. concevera MS.
46 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
925 Jhesu, le nostre salvaor.
Adam trarra de grant dolor,
Et remetra en paraïs.
[40''] Ço que vus di, de deu l'apris.
Ço iert tôt acompli por veir,
930 En ce devez tenir espeir.
Tune veniet Nabugodonosor ornatus sicut regem [ciecet] : '
Nonne misimus très pueros in fornace lïgatos F R
Ministri : Vero^ rex. [Nabugodonosor] : Ecce video
,20 quatuor viros solutos déambulantes in medio ignis,
et corrupcio nulla est in eisy et aspectus quarti similis
est filio dei.
Oëz vertu merveilles grant,
Ne l'oït hom qui seit vivant,
Ço que jo vi des treis emfanz.
Qui [jo] fis mettre en fu ardant.
935 Le fu esteit mult fier e grant,
E la flambe clere e bruiant ;
Les treis faseient joie grant
La u furent al fu ardant.
Cum jo regart le quart emfant,
940 Qui lor faseit solaz mult grant,
La chiere aveit resplendissant,
Sembleit le filz de deu puissant.
[Incomplète]
926. Qui Adam MS. 5 correction propoud by G. 928. Ico que vus di de
deu lai apris MS. 929. E co iert ... par veir MS. 931. merveille i^r<r
•which de grant has been crossed out in MS. 932. homme qui soit en vivant
MS. 933. trais MS. 934. Chi fis ... en foc MS. 935. fouc estoit
MS. 936. cler MS. 937. trois emfanz fasoient MS. 938. ou il furent
al fouc MS. Betiveen 938 and 939 the folloiving couplet 'was interpolated in
MS. : Chantouent un vers si cler bel Sembloit li angle fuissent del ciel.
939. Cum jo men regart si vi le quartz MS. ; correction proposed by S.
940. Chi lor fasoit mult grant solaz MS. ; emendation of S. 941. Les
chieres avoient tant r. MS. 942. Sembloient MS.
NOTES
i8. In prtncipio creavit. Sepet {Prophètes, p. 109) suggests
that this lectio probably consistée! of the chief lessons for the Sunday
of Septuagesima, including thus the complète story of the Création.
The responsoria which follow, i.e. 11. 20, 2Ô, Ç2y /j-j, belong to the
same office.
20. Formavit igitur dominus. Responsorium which follows
the first lesson at Matins on the Sunday of Septuagesima. The ver-
siculus is : Forma'vtt igitur Deus hominem de limo terrae, et inspira'vit
in faciem ejus spiraculum intae. The responsorium after the third
lesson is : Forma'vit Dominus hominem de limo terrae et inspira'vit in
faciem ejus spiraculum 'vitae, etfactus est homo in animam vi-ventem.
2. De lum de terre. The MS. has de limo terre, but as
nowhere else the author mixes Latin with French in the dialogue,
this passage and the ubi ^.f of 387 are probably corrupt.
5. Imagene. The word imdgene always counts as three syllables.
The s^ûXing ymage occurs in 409.
6. Ne me devez. For the confusion of second person singular
and second person plural see Introd. p. 1 [f).
13. Tu aime li. The pronoun tu is often found with the
imperative in our text. For other examples see Introd. p. xlix (f).
18. N'est pas estrange. The scansion of this verse has been
discussed in Introd. p. liii. Perhaps we should read Estrange n'est.
28. En ton cuer. The MS. has cors j for the confusion of cors
and cuer see Introd. p. xxxv (/).
39. Adjutoire. The word appears to hâve become almost
synonymous with 'wife,' ' helpmate.' Thus we find in the
' Fragments ' published by Manly {Spécimens of Pre-Shaksperean
Drama, vol. i. pp. xxvii-xxxvii) :
Yt ys not semely for man sine adjutorio
To be allone, nor very convenyent.
47
48 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
]
60. A folor s'apoie. The M S. has donc safoloie. Foerster is
inclined to retain the reading of the MS., Connecting iafoloie witH
O.Fr. foloier ; but Suchier points out that the rhymes afoloii
[z= afoleté) : joie X pote i oie are impossible in our text, ei and o\
representing différent sounds (see Introd. p. xli {a)). His emendation
donc est une foVoie^ * then she is a silly goose,* has not been favour-
ably received. G. Paris, among others, remarks that the German
*dumme Gans' has no counterpart in Old French {Romania^ xxi.
p. 280). Grass, in his last édition, adds : * Eine Besserung der Stelle
ist mir nicht gelungen.' With some hésitation I propose donc a
folor s'apoie^ which satisfies philological conditions and gives a
satisfactory meaning. Examples of s'apoier^ * foUow,* ' side with,' are
numerous in Godefroy : Mes il ne se 'voit pas a lur diz apuier
(Garnier, St. Thomas)^ A cest consoil, dist Karles, est droiz que l'on
s'apuit (Jean Bodel), etc.
63. A petit ues seit. MS. A petit ^vus soit. The emendation
was suggested to me by Prof Baker. The meaning of the line is,
*of little importance be he (or let him be) who envies you.' As
the context is a paraphrase of Genesis : [Replète terram] et subjicite
eam et dominamini piscibus maris, etc., Grass proposes to read
apri'voiez.
66. N'est pas liez a pal. Grass considers this line corrupt ;
but the expression, as it stands, is perfectly clear, i.e. * he who has
this gift is not tied to stake, or tethered* ( = possesses full liberty
of action). Godefroy (v. p. 702 {a)) quotes deslier du pal, which
appears to mean * free from embarrassment.'
68. Seiet/see Introd. p. 1 {e).
70. E si od. MS. e o'vec, see Introd. p. xxxix (-v).
83. Miilt par, par is hère an adverb of intensity or degree,
not a préposition.
26. Tulit ergo domtnus hominem. Responsorium which
follows the fourth lesson at Matins on the Sunday of Septuagesima.
The full text is : Tulit Dominus hominem, et posuit eum in paradiso
^oluptatis, ut operaretur et custodiret illum.
2Ç. Dixtt dôminus ad Adam, Responsorium not included in
the Roman breviary, but which Sepet [Prophètes, p. 108) has found
in a twelfth-century breviary of Saint Martial of Limoges j it
NOTES
49
occurs in the liturgy for the Sunday of Septuagesima. The full
text runs as foUows : Dixit Dominus ad Adam : De ligno quod est in
medio paradisi ne comedas ; in quacunque die comederis ex eo, morte
morieris. Praecepitque ei Dominus dicens .• Ex omni ligno paradisi
comede, de ligno autem scientie boni et mali ne comedas.
113-16. The authentici*y of this passage has been questioned by
Suchier. Elsewhere the author has always grouped decasyllabic
Unes in monorhyme quatrains, and has seldom made use of this
mètre in the dialogue. Suchier proposes accordingly to substitute
the foUowing octosyllabic couplets :
DiABOLUs : Que fais Adam ? adam : Vif en déduit.
DiABOLUs : Estas tu bien ? adam : N'ai que m'enuit.
DIABOLUS : Poet estre mielz ? adam : Ne sai cornent.
DIABOLUS : E vols le tu ? adam : lert mon talent.
But on comparison, it must be admitted that the version of the
MS. is préférable (see Introd. p. lii).
138. Fol jomal. Entrer en fol jornal, 'enter on a foolish task,'
*act foolishly.' According to Gv2iss^ jorn al \s hère not a subst. but
an adj., and he translates * become stark mad.'
140. N'es tu en gloire? In order to improve the mètre, Suchier
proposes ne'z en gloire^ ' born in glory.' See Introd. p. liii.
144. Senz nul entent. The MS. has sens. In the word entent
we hâve an example of substitution of préfixes {en for a) so common
in Anglo-Norman, the meaning of the phrase being * without any
delay.' Suchier, however, proposes to retain sens^ and translates
'meaning I understand none,* i.e.'l can connect no meaning with
what I hear.' If this interprétation be adopted, n entent must be
substituted for entent.
149-50. Exception has been taken to the rhyme defens : mains
by Suchier, Foerster and Grass. See Introd. p. xl (J).
183. Gardein. This word is frequently met with in Anglo-
Norman - it also occurs in East and North-East French, but
apparently not in Francien.
186. Altre honor te voldra atraire. The meaning is 'surely
God has some greater honour in store tor you.'
208. Dunge. For subjunctive in -ge see Introd. p. 1 {a).
219. Bien te poez creire a ma parole. Suchier proposes to
50
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
retain the reading of the MS. : Bien te pois creire a ta parole^ ♦! can
take your word for it.' But this hardly constitutes an answer to
the preceding question.
257. Quanque est a estre. Critics are not agreed as to the
meaning of thèse words ; * whatever has being ' and * whatever is to
be ' hâve both been suggested. See also Variants.
281-87. In the MS. this passage is very corrupt. See Variants.
Moreover the scribe went hopelessly wrong in his division of the
dialogue.
290. B sel poser al deu halçor. The correction was suggested
by Grass, the meaning of the passage being ' he wished to place
himself vvith the higher (or very high) God,' i.e. ' to place himself
^A^«U^~** 011 a foot of equality with God.* Suchier proposes to retain des
(= ?deis<discus) of the MS., and to read : Soi poser el des halzor^
*he wished to place himself on the higher throne,' i.e. *on the
throne of God.' G. Paris reads al dois, *à la table d'honneur.'
294. Que n\is est prest. In commenting on the German
translation of Adam by Elisabeth Grahl-Schulze, Grass renders this
Une ♦ as no one is near * (' da keiner da ist '), but then we should
expect nest instead of est. I would suggest * which is at our disposai,*
or 'which is at hand.'
297, J'en duit, It is not clear what thèse words refer to.
Grass connects them with v. 295, and interprets <I doubt whether
it is as good as you say.* In that case lai le which follows must be
altered tofai le {or Jaz le), 'do it,' i.e. 'taste it.' Foerster, on the
other hand, alters J'en duit to Jel duit, Connecting it with v, 296,
the sensé being ' I fear it,' i.e. ' I am afraid of tasting it.' To
which Eve replies lai le, * leave it,' i.e. ' put aside your fear.' Thèse
conjectures, no doubt, hâve their merit, but a simpler solution
might be found without altering the wording of the MS. The
construction is rather loose, and Adam in J'en duit expresses his
doubts as to whether he should ascertain the goodness of the fruit,
while Eve, availing herself of the subterfuge which Satan had so
successfully used against Adam (v. 1 20), replies peevishly lai le, * well,
leave it.' This at once has the desired effect. Ne ferai pas, ' I
shan't,' replies Adam, for he is now as eager to eat the fruit as Eve
herself.
298. Fais tu que las. An elliptical construction common in
NOTES 51
Old French ; liierally the meaning is ' you do (or act) as a coward
does.'
64, Iriduet vestes pauperes. The fact that Adam alone is
referred to as having to change his dress led Luzarche to believe
that the part of Eve was probably played by a woman. But Sepet
{Prophètes, pp. 119-22) has shown that the évidence is too slender
for such a conclusion. Except in nunneries, women's parts were
invariably performed by youths. In the présent case it is very
probable, although the didascalia do not actually say so, that Eve,
too, had to doff her beautiful w^hite robe {péplum sericum album).
345-46. The passage is certainly corrupt, as is shown by the
faulty mètre and the rhymes dreit -.plait. See Introd. p. xli {à).
347. Memorie. -ôrie, -drie, -érie were common Anglo-Norman
endings for French -oïre, -aire, -eire. About the middle of the
thirteenth century the accent appears to hâve been shifted, the
endings becoming : -orfe, -arfe, -erfe. Cf English ' memory,' ' glory,*
'gramarye,' etc.
371. Cum a maie ore. Grass proposes to substitute for thèse
words cum mal <vi Pore, and places a point of exclamation after
them. Perhaps they should rather be taken with v. 373, and
translated * what a misfortune that ever you became my mate * ;
v. 372 would then constitute a kind of parenthetical clause.
379. Por queil nomai? The reading of the MS. is por quoi le,
and no other example of enclitic use of le with quei is to be found
in the text. Nevertheless both Foerster and Suchier recommend
the emendation on the ground that in the twelfth century such
contractions were still possible in a text written in England.
6ç. Dum deamhularet. Responsorium following the first lesson
at Matins on the Monday after Septuagesima. The full text is :
Dum deamhularet Dominus in paradiso ad auram post meridiem,
damanjit et dixit : Adam ubi es P Audi-vi, Domine, 'vocem tuam, et
abscondi me. Vocem tuam audi-vi in paradiso et timui eo quod nudus
essem. Et abscondi me.
74. In collating the MS. Foerster omitted to indicate the begin-
ning of folios 27' and 39'. Grass estimated that the former com-
menced somewhere between 11. 7J and 74.
418. Ele flst prime. Foerster thinks that the use oï prim as
52 LE MYSTèRE d'aDAM
an adjective is unlikely in so late a work as this, and proposes to
rend primes, as in v. 263. But prime is net impossible and occurs in
Béroul's Tristatiy v. 2554.
422. Jo ai mesfait. In ail other cases (343, 349, 461, 563, 681,
etc.) our text employs the construction with estre.
435-36. For the rhyme hahan : pan (panis) see Introd. p. xl {(£).
464. Petit aquest me rent grant traûage. 'A small gain
yields to me a heavy toll [of sorrow].'
465-66. In the MS. thèse two lines constitute a couplet rhyming in
-ant j but practically throughout the author has grouped decasyllabic
lines in monorhyme quatrains. See note to vv. 11 3-16, and Introd.
p. lii. Moreover, the word meweille in v, 465 might well hâve
stood at the end of the line, a position from which it was removed
by the scribe, because he failed to decipher v. 466. A rhyme in
-ant was obviously more readily found than one in -eille.
467. Ne semble pas oeille. Grassrenderso«7/f by 'sheepfold' (!),
and sembler 'ôeille by ' to be dumb' (!).
481-82. Tu son talon aguaiteras, Celé te sachera le ras.
The first line is perfectly clear, but not the second. As Grass
points out, thèse two lines (together with w. 483-84) are a free
rendering of Genesis iii. 15 : ipsa conteret caput tuum^ et tu insidiaberii
calcaneo ejus. We therefore expect in the second line some référence
to Eve's treading on the serpent's head, and Foerster suggests the
verb cachier or escachier instead of sachier. But this does not
eliminate the chief difficulty — the word ras, which can hardly mean
* head,' although, on the sole authority of Palustre, this meaning
is tentatively accepted by Godefroy. Moreover, Ta teste ferra
d'itel mail S^ui te ferra mult grant tranjail (483-84) might be taken
as a metaphorical rendering of ipsa conteret caput tuum. It is inter-
esting to compare the text with the Prologue of Greban's Mystère de
la Passion. In the latter, the words placed in the mouth of God are
as follows :
Si mettray continuel guerre
qui entre femme et toy se tienne
entre sa semence et la tienne,
qui jamès ne terminera.
La teste te soubzmarchera
et t'espyra de l'esguillion
souvent a ta confusion, etc. (vv. 783-89)
NOTES
53
Might not Celé te sachera le ras hâve the same meaning as Greban's
et fespyra de resguillton, i.e. * she will deprive thee of thy sting ' ?
Prof. Baker suggests celé te marchera sanz gas.
84. In sudore vultus tut, Responsorium foUowing the second
lesson at Matins on the Monday after Septuagesima (cf. note to
V. 6ç). The full text is : In sudore <vultus tut 'vesceris pane tuo, dixit
Dominus ad Adam : cum operatus fueris terram, non dabit fructus suos,
sed spinas et tribulos gémi nabi t îibi. S^uia audisti <vocem uxoris tuae
et comedisti de ligno, ex quo praecey,. tibi ne comederes, maie dicta
terra in opère tuo.
516. Ne de tochier. }^e appears to be redundant, or, according
to Suchier, should be taken as an adverb rather than as a conjunction
(cf. Zeitschrift f. rom. Phil. ii. p. 20).
92. Ecce Adam quasi unus. Responsorium following the
eighth lesson at Matins on the Sunday of Septuagesima. The full
text is : Ecce Adam quasi unus ex nobis factus est, seiens bonum et
malum .• 'videte ne forte sumat de ligna 'vitae et nji'vat in aeternum.
524, Glorle. See note to v. 347.
533-34. As in w. 465-66 (see note), the scribe was unable to
decipher one of the lines (v. 533), In his endeavour to fill the
lacuna, he introduced the new rhyme petit : escrit in the quatrain.
But the awkward inversion in v, 534 shows that estoire originaUy
stood at the end of the line.
549. Sanz entent. MS. la ço entent. Grass proposes to read
sanz. entent, 'without delay,' ascribing to entent { = atent) the same
meaning as in v. 144 (see note).
578. Del toen pecchié onc te ne pois retraire. As an
alternative, Grass suggests Le toen pecchié onc te ne pois retraire,
where retraire would hâve the same meaning as in w. 560 and 564,
i.e. 'reproach.*
590. Nus grietera. The MS. has Gieter nus 'voldra. See Introd.
p. xxxix [t).
I2J, Hère begins the ' Second Act ' of the play, that of * Abel
and Gain.'
603-4. Other ecclesiastical play^vrights, in imitation of the présent
scène, direct the attention of the spectators to the necessity of paying
conscientiously ail tithes and dues to which the Church lays claim.
54 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
622. Très bien l'achat, ke dreiz est qu'il s'en pleigne. The
meaning appears to be * he who begins a quarrel let him pay for
it dearly, for it is right that he should hâve to lament.' Grass,
taking exception to très bien (but see v. 716) and to the absence
of a grammatical subject in the principal clause (but see vv. 66,
111-12, 613-14, 715-16), proposes to read Cil iert chastiez, ' he
shall be punished.'
651-52. The same idea is expressed more forcibly by Cain in the
Ludus Coventriae (éd. Halliwell, p. 36) :
Amonges aile ffolys that gon on grownd,
I holde that thou be on of the most,
To tythe the best that is most sownd,
And kepe the werst that is nere lost.
659-60. The rhyme cuer : luè'r of the MS. was certainly intro-
duced by a scribe. See Introd. pp. xxxviii («), and xlii (a).
665-66. By the removal of iJe ca in v. 665 a very satisfactory read-
ing is secured. Grass attempts a more elaborate emendation (see
Variants). He adds two Unes to the text, but for some reason not
stated he counts thèse two lines as one. From v. 666 onward the
numbering of the lines in the présent édition is one short of that
in Grass's second édition. This holds good down to 938, where
an interpolated couplet has not been counted.
678. A grant relais, *very leisurely.' Grass translates 'after a
long interval, soon after' (!)
691. Vei ci qiii fera la provence. As an alternative reading,
Grass suggests Vei ci la main por la pro'vence.
709-13. Grass proposes to introduce hère oratio recta in the place
oï oratio obliqua (see Variants).
716. Très bien l'empleie, pas nel pert. According to Grass
this gives no sensé and should be altered as indicated in the foot-
notes, but the construction in the MS., if somewhat elliptical, is,
none the less, clear. The meaning is ' he who serves Him [God]
makes good use of [his service], and does not lose it.'
721. Je t'OBcirai, je tei défi. Grass {Zeitschrift f. franz. Spr. u.
Lit., 19 12, p. 64) translates *I will kill thee for I distrust thee '
(« denn ich mistraue dir '). But the usual meaning of dejier {desjier)
in Old French was not 'distrust' but *defy,' ♦ provoke,' 'attack.'
NOTES
55
See for example ' Jo desfiai Rollant le puigneur E Olivier e tuz lur
cumpaignuns,' Roland (éd. Gautier) 3775 ; ' Mar pueent estre que
vus défierez,' Chançun de Guillelme, 113 ; 'Quant fu desarmez e dis
toresters.li urent défiez,' Boe^ey 520, etc.
^53' Ubi est Ahel^frater tuus ? Responsorium foUowing the
ninth lesson at Matins on the Sunday of Septuagesima. The full
text is : Ubi est Abel frater tuus F dixit Dominus ad Gain. Nesdo,
Domine, numquid custos fratris mei sum ego F Et dixit ad eum :
Sluid fecisti F Ecce njox sanguinis fratris tui Abel clamât ad me de
terra. Maledictus eris super terram, quae aperuit os suum et suscepit
sanguinem fratris tui de manu tua.
739-40. The rhyme tue : 'vie of the MS. has been elirainated,
as u and / do not rhyme in the text and the original has elsewhere
ahvays occire or oscire, not tuer.
742. A set doble le penera. Pener means 'incur or undergo
punishment.' On the ground that this meaning is not recorded
elsewhere, Suchier and Grass hâve questioned the authenticity of
this passage (see Variants). Godefroy, however, quotes an example
from Froissart oï pener, *suffer,' 'endure pain.'
ijç. Hère begins the third and last act of the drama, i.e. the
' Procession of the Prophets.'
161. Vos^ inquayn.^ convenio.^ 0 Judei. Thèse are the opening
words of the pseudo-Augustinian Sermon, out of whicH the Pro-
cession of Prophets and ultimately the Mystère d'Adam were
evolved. (See Introd. p. xii.) It is unlikely that the ' Sermon ' was
read from beginning to end, seeing that the latter part was acted on
the stage. The lesson probably included the following section :
Fos, inquam, convenio, à Judei, qui usque in hodiernum diem negatis
Filium Dei. Nonne -vox "vestra est illa quando eum njidebatis miracula
facientem atque temptantes dicebatis : ^uousque animas nostras, sus-
pendis F Si tu es Christus, die nobis palam. Ille autem 'vos ad con-
siderationem mittebat miraculorum, dicens : Opéra que ego facio ipsa
testimonium perhibent de me ; ut Christo testimontum dicerent non 'verba,
sedfacta. Vos autem non agnoscentes Salvatorem qui operabatur salutem
in medio njestre terre, adicientes in malo alstis : Tu de te ipso testimonium
dicis ; testimonium tuum non est 'verum. Sed ad hec ille quid vobis
responderit ad'vertere noluistis : Nonne scriptum est in lege njestra quod
56 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
duorum honùnum test'imonium -verum s'tt? Pre-uaricatores legis, in-
tensité legem. Testimonium queritis de Christo : in lege ^estra scriptum
est quod duorum hominum testimonium "verum sit. Procédant ex lege
non tantum duo sed eciam plures testes Christi et con-uincant auditores
iegisy nonfactores.
167-68. Genesis, xxii. 17-18. The sentence should end as follows :
omnes gentes terrae, quia obedisti njoci meae.
^73-74- In the 'Sermon' the prophecy of Moses was slightly
longer : Prophetam 'vobis suscitabit Deus de fratribus vestris ; omnîs
anima que non audierit prophetam illum, exterminabitur de populo
suo.
771. Deus resuscitera. The MS. has Foldra deus susciter.
See Introd. p. xxxix (/).
iyg-82. The author probably borrowed thèse verses from the
Latin play which he imitated. See Introd. p. xvii.
18J-87. Psalms, Ixxxiv. 12-13. In the 'Sermon' David recites a
différent prophecy.
1ÇO-Ç4. IVisdom ofSolomon^ vi. 5-7.
iç8-çç. Numbers, xxiv. 17.
20J. This prophecy is taken 'Verbatim from the ' Sermon,* and
is apparently based on Daniel, ix. 24 : Septuaginta hebdomades
abbrtviatae sunt super populum tuumy et super urbem sanctam tuam^
ut consummetur prae--varicatio, et finem accipiat peccatum, et deleatur
iniquitas, et adducaîur Justifia sempiterna, et impleatur 'visio et pro-
phetia, et ungatur sancius sanctorum.
207-oç. This prophecy is also taken from the ' Sermon ' ; in the
latter, however, the Prophet continues as follows : Opéra tua^ Deus,
Verbum carofactum est. In medio duum animalium cognosceris. S^ui
quousque descendisti, expa^vescere me fecisti ; Verbum, per quod facta
sunt omnia, in presepe jacuisti. Agnovit bos possessorem suum et asinus
presepe Domini sui. In medio duum animalium cognosceris. S^uid
est in medio duum animalium cognosceris? nisi aut in medio duorum
testamentorum, aut in medio duorum latronum, aut in medio Moyse
et Helie cum eo in monte sermocinantium, etc. As Sepet {Prophètes,
p. 22) has pointed out, the prophecy is based on Habakkuk, in. 2 ;
but instead of following the Vulgatc : . . . Domine, opus tuum .- in
medio annorum -ui-vifica iliud, the author of the 'Sermon' adopted
NOTES 57
the version of the Septuagint : èv fiéai^ 5vo ^û)uv yvuadrjffrit transla-
ting it by in medio duum animalium cognosceris.
844. Qu'en grant pour li cuer m'en ovre. The Une is doubt-
ful. The probable meaning, suggested by Grass, is ' that my
heart works {i.e. beats) in great fear.*
845. Doua bestes, See above, note to 11. 207 -oç.
847. Cil de cui ai si grant merveille. In her German trans-
lation of the Mystère d'Adam, Elisabeth Grahl-Schulze renders ' He
whom I honour and admire ' ('Er den ich bewundrungsvoU verehre').
Grass rejects this, and proposes ' He who taught me such a wondrous
thing' ('Er der mich solches Wunder lehrte'). Neither is very
satisfactory ; I would suggest * He, concerning whom I hâve such
wonders, or such a miracle [to tell].'
852. Se fera as reis certain. The subject is 'Christ' implied
from what précèdes, and the meaning is ' He will reveal himself to
the kings.*
212-17. Jeremiah, vii. 2-3. In the ' Sermon ' the Prophet recites
another prophecy.
859. Geste porte, i.e. the church door at which the Prophet
would point in reciting thèse words. Instead of 'volex. entrer
we should perhaps read enterrez. See Variants and Introd.
p. xxxix if).
220-21. In the * Sermon ' Isaiah recites only one prophecy, the
one given below 22^-26. On the other hand, in the St. Martial
Drama (see Introd. p. xiii) we find :
Est necesse
Virgam Jesse
De ratiice provehi j
Flos deinde
Surget inde
Qui est spiritiis Dei.
This is a metrical version of haiafiy xi. 1-2. The Mystère
d'Adam reproduces the text of the Vulgate.
22J-2Ô. Sec last note.
22S-32. This prophecy is taken literally froui the 'Sermon.'
933. Emfanz, The poet probably wrote t7i:junt, sacrihcing ihe
inriexional s to the rhyme.
rg LE MYSTÈRE D*ADAM
938. The couplet which in the MS. tbllows v. 938 does not
rhyme and is obviously interpolated.
942. The speech of Nebuchadnezzar is incomplète, v. 942 in the
MS. being immediately followed, on the next page, by the Dit des
quinze signes du jugement. The probable conclusion of the play has
been discussed in the Introduction, pp. xix-xxi.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following éditions of the Mystère d'Adam bave appeared :
(L) 1 Adam^ drame anglo-normand du XII^ siècle, publié pour la
première fois d'après un manuscrit de la Bibliothèque de TourSj
par V, Luzarche, Tours, 1854.
This édition, limited to 211 copies, gives on the whole a faithful
reproduction of the MS. Although Luzarche was fully aware of
the many blunders and obscurities which marred the text, he did
not venture to make any but the most obvions corrections, his
object being to place the work within the reach of scholars and
to supply them with the material for a critical édition.
(P) Adam, mystère du XIP siècle, texte critique accompagné d'une
traduction, par Léon Palustre, Directeur de la société française
d'archéologie, Paris, 1877.
In a pompons préface the editor claimed the honour of having
produced a critical édition which marked a great advance on that
of Luzarche. Unfortunately he? was little quaiified for the task j
and Gaston Paris cannot be accused of undue severity when he
described the handsomely printed work as 'beau livre, mais sans
valeur scientifique* {Romania, xxi. p. 275). The emendations
contributed by Palustre are almost uniformly worthless and sheer
guesswork, while not a few passages, obviously correct in the M S.,
hâve been unnecessarily altered by the critic.^ The Modem French
^ The letters in brackets are the abbreviations by which the works are
referred to in the foot-notes to the text.
^ For example: v. 29. imperative 'moi aime' becomes ' mei aim * j
V. 57. 'tute ta vie' becomes 'tôt' ta vie' ; v. 170. 'or oez déduit' becomes
'aurais déduit ' ; v. 207. 'jo vois (vado) ' becomes 'je veis ' ; v. 230. 'neif '
becomes 'nief ; etc.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 5 9
translation which accompanies the text gives the main purport of
the play, but in points of détail it is calculated to lead astray rather
than to assist the student.i
Das Adamsspiel, Anglonormannisches Gedicht des XII. Jahrh.^ mit
einem Anhang, die Fûnfzehn Zeichen des Jûngsten Gerichts,
herausgegeben von Dr. Karl Grass {Romanische Bibliothek,
vi), Halle a. S., 1891.
Based on a careful collation of the Tours MS. (by the late
W. Foerster), this édition shows a distinct improvement on its
predecessors ; but, as Suchier and Tobler hâve clearly shovç-n in
their reviews, it cannot in any sensé be considered final. Grass
attempted to make such emendations as the context or the mètre
rendered imperative, taking for granted that the verses should scan
according to the canons of standard French prosody. He relegated
to an appendix the ^inze signes du jugement, which previous editors
had printed as an intégrai part of the play, and contributed a
detailed study of the rhyraes occurring in the poem.
(G) Das Adamsspiel, Anglonormannisches Mysterium des XII. Jahrh.,
herausgegeben von Dr. Karl Grass, Oberlehrer am Realgym-
nasium zu Dûren (Rheinland). Zweite verbesserte Auflage
{Romanische Bibliothek, vi), Halle a. S., 1907.
Apparently deterred by the mistakes which marred his earlier
editioi^ Dr. Grass abandoned the idea of a critical text and practically
reproduced the MS., while he discussed in copious notes the various
improvements which he and others had suggested. Such an édition
may satisfy the needs of the practised philologist, but it fails to meet
the requirements of the average student. What is perhaps even
more serious, it does a great wrong to the gifted, though anonymous,
author of the Mystère d*Adam, by perpetuating blemishes for which
careless or ignorant scribes alone bear the responsibility.
1 Thus, V. 85. *Jol tei comand por maindre e por garder' is translated
*Je te recommande donc de veiller à n'en pas sortir ' j v. 116, 'Bien en
iert mon talent ' = ' En seral-je plus avancé' ; v. 226. 'car la prenge seveals
de tei ' = ' Mais j'en prendrai de la tienne, moi, si tu le veux'; v. 269.
' sanz faillance ' = ' sans interruption ' j v. 383. ' Ne sai de nul prendre conrei '
= 'Nous n'avons certainement pas agi dans notre intérêt' j v. 428. 'El te
faldrat al fruit porter ' = *Tu en subiras les conséquences ' ; etc.
60 LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
Apart from the complète éditions described above, certain sections
of the Mystère d'Adam hâve also been published in the foUowing
Works :
Les Prophètes du Christ, étude sur les origines du théâtre au moyen âge^
par Marius Sepet, Paris, 1878.
Numerous extracts are given from p. 129 onward, but the
emendations embodied in them are valueless.i
Origines catholiques du théâtre moderne . . ., par Marius Sepet,
Paris [1901].
This work contains (pp. 123-43) a modem French translation of
vv. 113-314, 591-745, based on the version of Luzarche.
(B) Chrestomathie de l'ancien français, par Karl Bartsch, Ninth
Edition, Leipzig, 1908.
In this édition, revised by Léo Wiese, extract No. 22 reproduces
verses 205-386 of the Mystère d'Adam.
(A) Spécimens of Old French {IX-XF centuries), by Paget Toynbee,
Oxford, 1892.
Extract 25 contains verses 205-314 with a few unimportant
corrections.
(R) Chrestomathie du moyen âge, extraits publiés . . ., par G. Paris
et E. Langlois, 4^ éd., Paris, 1904.
The extract (pp. 307-315) comprises verses 205-316, and is
accom.panied by a modem French translation. Paris normalizes
the spelling, substitutes oi for ei, assumes vocalization of / before
consonant, and changes /o/ mio pou in spite of the rhym^ joie : poie
57 :S8-
(C) Chrestomathie de l'ancien français {IX'-XF^ siècles), par L.
Constans, 3® éd., Paris and Leipzig, 1906.
Extract 51, apart from a few slight altérations, is identical with
extract 25 of (A).
(V) Einfuhrung in das Studium der altfranz^isischen Literatur . . .,
von Dr. Cari Voretzsch, zweite Auflage, Halle a. S., 1913.
^ Sepet attempted, not to correct the text, but to render it more accessible
to the avcrage Frenchman.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 6l
On pp. 141-142 the author has given a standardized version of
verses 205-271.
A German translation of the whole work has recently been
published by Elisabeth Grahl-Schulze, Kiel, 19 10.
In criticizing this translation at some length {ZeiUchnfi fur franx.
Spr. und Lit. xl, 1912, p. 63), Grass has incidentally interpreted
numerous passages of the Mystère d'Adam, supplementing thereby
his own éditions. Some of thèse interprétations can, however,
hardly be defended ; the more important ones are referred to in
the Notes.
In addition to those mentioned above, the following scholars
hâve also contributed valuable comments on the text :
(F) W. Foerster, mainly in * Anmerkungen * added to the first
édition of Grass, pp. 69-78.
(S) H. Suchier, review of the same édition in the Gottingische
gelehrte Anzeigen, No. 18, Sept, i, 1891, p. 685.
(T) A. Tobler, in Literaturblatt J. germ. und rom. Philologie.^ xii,
No. 10, Oct. 1891, p. 342.
(M) A. Mussafia, in Zeitschrift fur die Ssterreichiscken Gymnasien,
xliii, Wien, 1892, p. 67.
G. Cohn, Deutsche Litteraturzeitung, xiii, 1892, p. 86.
For the history of the religions drama in the Middle Ages, the
reader is referred to the following works :
E. K. Chambers, The Mediae'val Stage, Oxford, 1903, especially
vol. ii. This work will be found, on the whole, generally reliable
and most useful for practical purposes. It is unfortunate,
however, that the author ascribes the Mystère d'Adam to the
thirteenth and the Anglo-Norman Résurrection to the twelfth
century (vol. ii. p. 75).
W. Creizenach, Geschichte des neueren Dramas, vols, i-iv. Part I,
Halle, 1 893-1909, especially vol. i. A standard work on the
subject.
For the English drama see also :
The Cambridge History of English Lireralurt_ vol. v, 1910.
A. W. Pollard, English Miracle- ("tays, Moralities and Interludes,
4th éd., Oxford, 1904.
J. M. Manly, Spécimens of Pre-Shaksperean Drama, Boston, 1897, etc.
62
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
For the French drama :
L. Petit de JuUeville, Histoire du théâtre en France au moyen âge,
4 vols., Paris, 1880-86.
E. Lintilhac, Le Théâtre sérieux du moyen âge^ Paris, 1904.
L. J. N. Monmerqué et F. Michel, Théâtre français au moyen âge,
Paris, 1842. Another éd., 1885.
Several of the above mentioned works contain full bibliographies.
The Anglo-Norman dialect has been the subject of numerous
articles and notices, an exhaustive list of which is given in :
E. Schwan and D. Behrens, Grammaire de V ancien français, traduc-
tion française par O. Bloch, Leipzig, 191 3, p. 266.
L. E. Menger, The Anglo-Norman Dialect, New York, 1904.
This manual contains a clear and full account of the phonology
and morphology of the dialect.
The reader may also consult with advantage the Introductions
to the following texts, especially the second :
E. Walberg, Le Bestiaire de Philippe de Thaûn, Lund, Paris, 1900.
A. Stimming, Der anglonormannische Boenje de Hauntone {Bibliotheca
normannica, vii), Halle, 1899.
TABLE OF PROPER NAMES
Aaron 777.
Abacuc Habakkuk 204.
Abel 611, 639, 667, 723.
Abraham 745.
Adam i, etc.
Balaam 795.
Chaïm, Chasntn 591, 623, 723,
741.
Crist, Crlstus 822, 833.
Daniel zoo.
David 183.
Emanuhel 921.
Eve, Evaln 10*, 25, 106, etc.
Gabrïel 922.
Israël 8ig. 822, 862.
Jacob 817.
Jessé 878.
Jheremias 210.
Jbesu 925.
Judé 857.
Judeu Jew 791, 827*.
Marie 382, 923.
Moab 820.
Moyses Moses 777.
Nabugrodonosor 227.
Salomon 188.
Setb içç.
Ysaias .?7<5' ; Ysaïe 883*.
GLOSSARY
Note. — An asterisk * placed after the référence number indicates that a
correction has been introduced. The gender of substantives is stated only
when it is apparent from the context.
Achaison s. occasion, reason
alter s.m. altar 635*.
154.
amende s. amends 569.
achater vb. buy, pay 622*.
amerrat 3 sg. fut. of amener.,
acointier 'vb. acquaint, tell 2^3 ;
lead 853.
become acquainted, meddle
andui, ansdous num. both 14*,
with 421, 487.
16*.
acordancef. réconciliation 588.
apaier njb. appease, reconcile
adjutoire s.m. help 39, 533 (see
631.
note).
apareir njb. appear, become
afoler 'vb. damage, injure 366.
manifest ; apert p.p. 162.
agnel s.m. lamb 643.
apoier, s' 'vb. follow 60* (see
aguaitier 'vb. lie in wait, set a
note).
snare 481.
aquest s.m. gain 464.
aï interj. expression of grief or
ardeir 'vb. burn ; arst 3 sg. prêt.
pain 357, 371.
364; ^n, -^p.p. 359.
aidier vh. help 380 ; ait 3 sg.
asaier njb. try, test (Mod. Fr.
près. subj. 353.
essayer) 282*, 286.
aïe ;. help, succour 336, 381,
ascute see escoter.
510.
aseeir 'vb. establish, lay out
ainz ad'v. sooner, rather, but
(Mod. Fr. asseoir) 612* ; asis
167* 224, etc.
p.p. 83, 794.
aire s.m. race, nature ; de mal
asis see aseeir.
aire 575, opposite of de bon
asise s. verdict, décision (cf.
aire.
Engl. assise) 796.
aïrier, s' <vb. grow angry 529.
atraire 'vb. draw near, bring,
aime s. soûl 3* 508, 602.
bestow upon 164, 186, 553.
63
64.
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
aùrer 'vb. adore 860"*^ ; aûre 3 sg.
près. ind. 521.
autr'ier ad-v. day before yester-_
day 175*, 395» etc.
avérer -vb. corne true 805.
BailUe ;. power, possession 64*,
509, 515.
baiUir <vb. ; mal baillir ill-treat,
put in evil plight 366, 468.
bandon s. ; mettre a bandon to
surrender 610.
bargaigne ;. strife, wrangle 621*.
bastir njb. cause 362.
beneïçon s. bénédiction, blessing
768.
bénignité ;. blessing 785.
blastengier 'vb. blâme SSS"*"-
bonaûrté s. happiness 499.
bosoing s. m. need 53, 123.
brudler ^b. burn 361. |
bridant près. p. of bruïr burn '
936.
Ceal3/>ro«. (see Introd. p. xli [b)).
celer njb. conceal, keep secret
215, 266.
celestial adj. heavenly 252, 874.
certain adj. ; se faire certain
manifest oneself, appear 852.
certes ad'v. certainly 153, 683 ;
a certes seriously 888.
chaitif, -va adj. wretched, un-
happy 519, 551, 566, 571.
cbaleir 'vb. matter, concern ;
chalt 3 sg. près. ind. 117,
155-
chalengier 'vb. daim 495.
chalt see chaleir. ■
chalt ;. beat 54.
'Chardon s. thistle 432, 545.
charnal adj. carnal, of the flesh
779-
chasement s. dwelling, abode,
estate 107, 498.
chastel sm. castle 762.
chastier <ub. admonish 628.
cheeir 'vb. fall ; chiet 3 sg. près.
ind. 230 ; cheeit "ç.^. 318*.
chief /.w. head 488 ; end 504.
chiere s.f. face 941.
chois s. choice 65*.
clamer 'vb. ; clamer raison lay
claim 832.
cler adj..^ ad-v. clear 307, 936.
clos p.p. oï clore enclose 881.
comander 'vb. entrust 85.
cornant s.m. command, order
408.
comfort s. enjoyment 102.
conjperer 'vb. pay lio*, 584.
conoistre 'vb. recognize ; co-
nustrai i sg. fut. 43.
conrei s.m. help, assistance, means
383*, 485-
conseillier 'vb. advise 188 ; refl.
seek advice 468.
conservage s. reciprocal assist-
ance 23 ; *same meaning as
conservitium (Du Cange) . . .
a preconcerted arrangement
for mutual support made for
the duration of a journey*
(Foerster).
conte s. ; entrer en conte settle
accounts 394.
GLOSSARY
6S
contraire ;. harm, misfortune
576, 830.
contredire -vb. forbid 414.
conustrai see conoistre.
copable, culpable a^J. guilty
562, 568.
corage, corrage, curage s. m.
heart, mind 37*, 234, 865.
corocier, curecier "vh. make
angry 214*, 380*.
corre ^vb. run ; en curant in a
hurry 120 ; corre sore pursue,
overwhelm ; curt 3 sg. près,
ind. 372* ; coru p.p. 520.
cors s.m. body 1 9, etc.
coate sf. rib 17, 359, 361, 363,
etc.
cotiver njb. cultivate 430.
coveitier a/b. covet, désire 9 1 *.
coveitise s. désire 605*.
covenir 'vb. be fitting, or necessary
25+, 436, 472-
créance s/, trust 217, 748 ; en
ma créance trusting in me
743 ; en ta créance trusting in
thee 719.
creire 'vb. believe 272, 280 ;
crerraij crerai 1 sg. fut. 7, 285,
etc.
cresche ;. manger, crib 849.
cruiz s. cross 810.
cnlpe s.f. guilt 565.
ciimpalnun s.m. companion 9.
curage see corage.
curant see corre.
cure s.f. care 80, 225.
curecier see corocier.
curt see corre.
Dampne deu s. Lord God 630,
654*.
dampner 'vb. damn 618.
déduit s. joy, pleasure 56, 113,
1 78 ; pleasant news (ironically)
170.
defens adj. prohibited 149 ; s.m.
defence, prohibition 411, 470.
dehaitier ( = deshaitier) --vb.
afflict 565.
délit s.m. delight, pleasure 90.
deliverat 3 sg. fut. of deli'vrer
deliver 816.
délivre adj. free 330, prone
539-
delivrement adaf. deliberately
412.
démener njb. forment ; demaine
3 sg. près. ind. 370 ; démener
'vie lead, or spend life 57.
demore, demure s.f. delay 311;
dwelling-place 333.
demorer njb. delay, demur 276,
298.
demostrer l'b. reveal 848.
déport s. pleasure, récréation
1 01, 184 ; sanz, ^^or/without
remission 506.
déporter 'vb. refresh 668.
descovrir njb. reveal ; desco'vert
p.p. 216.
déserte sf. désert, merit 450.
despois ad'v. after 505.
destorbier s. hindrance 694*,
desvé-e adj. mad, foolish 357*.
detraction s. dissension 608.
dexi, deus, dex, deux s. God
166, 176, 182, etc.
66
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
deveer <vh. forbid 152*, 431*.
dévié s. m. defence, prohibition
403*.
devlnaille ;/ prophecy 905.
devineor s.m. soothsayer 897*.
deviner 'vb. prophecy 444.
devise s. ; sen denj'tse without
remission 606.
dilection s. love 607.
disme s.f. tithe 603, 657, 712*.
dit s.m. Word, saying 877.
dolçor-;. sweetness 304.
dolent -e adj. sad, despondent
539-
doner njb. give ; donrai, dorrai
i sg. fut. 50, 451 ; durra 3 sg.
fut. 785 ; dunge, doinst 3 sg.
près. subj. 208, 637.
dor, dur -e adj. hard, harsh 222,-
320, 800.
dorges see durer.
dorrai, durra see doner.
doter, duter ^b. doubt, fear 87,
314 ; duit I sg. près. ind. 297.
dreit s.m. right, law 38* 474*,
600* ; ad-v. right, straight 19*,
409.
duaire s. dowry 552.
duit see doter.
dungre see doner.
durer 'vh. continue, last 86 ;
dorges 2 sg. près. subj. 740
(see Introd. p. 1 {à}).
dutance s. fear 275.
n. âge 98.
eir s. heir 758.
eissi adv. thus 745.
eisail s. exile, torment 507.
eissit see issir.
el pron. anything else 646.
embatre, s' 'vb. generally 'to
rush, swoop down upon' j hère
possibly *to hide* 390.
emfance s. childishness, foolish-
ness 276.
empleier ajb. employ 716* (see
note),
enclin -e adj. bowed, subjected,
obedient 35, 488, 579.
encombrier s. hindrance 331*.
encontre prep. against 796.
engendreore, engrendreûre s/.
conception 779 ; progeny 584.
engignier 'vb. deceive 442.
en^n s.m. deceit, trickery 243.
.en^uter ojb. grow sick 88.
enlacier ^b. entwine, fetter 40 1 .
enluminer ^b. illuminate 824.
enoit see enuier.
ensivre 'vb. follow 676.
entent ( = atent) s. delay 144,
549 (see note),
enuier afb. annoy, vex ; enoit 3
sg. près. subj. 114.
eschif -ve adj. shy, overcome
with shame 572.
escoter <vb. listen 613 ; escute^
ascute 2 sg. imperat. 187*,
239, esculte 129*; escutez 2 pi.
913 ; escutera 3 sg. fut. 912.
esgarder 'vb. consider, behold
843.
esleecié adj. happy 804*. ^
espeir s. hope 526*, 930.
esplne s. thorn 432.
GLOSSARY
espirlt s.m. spirit 88 1.
estage s.m. sojourn 97.
esteille, steiUe s.f. star 8 1 7, 8 23*,
848, 853.
ester 'vb. stand, be ; estes 2 sg.
près. ind. 1 14.
estes see ester.
estoire s. history 534.
estoveir 'vb. be necessary ; estoet
3 sg. près. ind. 332.
estre s. being 257.
estrif j. strife 725.
evesque s.m. bishop 839.
Faidi s.m. outlaw 514*.
faillance s. ; sanz.f alliance with-
out fail 269.
faille s.f. failing, deceit 342, 906.
faillir njb. lack j fait 3 sg. près.
ind. 179, etc. ; faldrat 3 sg.
fut. 428.
fain s. hay 851. •"
faiture s.f. créature 78.
faltxire s. lack 90.
feeil adj. faithful 12* 45*, 825*.
fei s. faith 188, 215* etc.
fel, félon adj. félon, wicked 575,
828.
félonie ;. felony, wickedness
470,* 735» 868, 901.
ferir njh. strike ; ferra 3 sg. fut.
483.
fiance s.f promise 218 ; trust
692, 720.
fleblet -te adj. délicate 227. —
flner 'vb. finish, end 456.
flambe s.f flame 936.
flambeier o/A. flash 5 1 7*.
67
776,
flor s.f flower, bloom 670,
879, 909.
fol sttjornal.
folage s.m. folly, 461.
folor s.f. foUy 6o*, iio, 326,
597-
forcer compar. oï fort 44*.
forfait, forfet s.m. misdeed 556,
572-
forfaitxire s.f. misdeed, guilt
564^ 586*.
forment, furment s.m. corn 545,
787.
fors ad<v. outside 20 ; fref.
except 132, 156.
franc adj. noble-minded 224.
freit s. cold 54*.
freûr s. fear 94.
friçun /. shudder, illness 52*.
fu j.w. fire36i, 818* 934*, 935*,
938*.
furor ;, madness 661.
Gaain s. gain 449*.
eraainnier njb. gain 404*.
gab s. joke 888.
gabber ^b. joke 416.
gaires adn}. much 246, 341, 404,
527-
gardein s. keeper, warden 183
(see note).
garder 'vb. look 898, 899 ; keep,
observe 41 1 ; watch, look after
513, 730-
■garir njb. save, recover ; garrai
I sg. fut. 904 ; garras 2 sg.
902.
gas see gab.
68
LE MYSTERE D ADAM
generaclon s.f. people, com-
munity 91 1.
g-ermain ;. kindred, brother 591.
gieter, jeter 'vb. cast, throw
ic8 ; free, rescue 369, 590.
grrace i. ; grâce de 'vie gift of
life 249.
grainlor comparât, of grant 548.
grre s.m. wish, désire, pleasure
615, 751.
grief adj. heavy, grievous 744.
guenchir 'vb. turn aside, rescue
695.
gueredon s.m. reward 425*,
703, 738.
guerpir 'vb. forsake 71*, 109*
321, 326, 52X, 532.
guerreier 'vb, wage war 440*.
guivre s./, viper, serpent 540,
575-
gwai ;. woe 420.
Hahan;. toil,exertion435 ; hard-
ship 457.
haïne s. hatred 479.
halçor comparât, of kalt, high
290*.
haltesce ;. hcight 376.
haltor s. height 813.
haschiee ;/." punishment 556*
561*.
host s. ; sires del host^ Lord of
hosts 861.
Hoc, lloec adv. there 336, 337.
iniagene, ymage s.f. image 5,
409.
Ire s.f. anger 388.
! iror, iriir ;. anger 93, 714.
I issir T-'Z). issue, go out, départ 36,
I 42, 100, etc. ; eissit 3 sg. prêt.
! 20 ; istra 3 sg. fut. 382.
; itel, ites adj.^ pron. such 304,
j 338, 650 etc.
Joïr <vb. enjoy 125, 527 ; rejl.
398*.
j ornai s. day's work, task ; entrer
en fol jornal enter on a foolish
task, act' foolishly 138 (see
note),
jugier njb. condemn 557*.
Labor ;. field, crop 669.
laier 'vb. leave ; lai 2 sg. imperat.
297.
laissier --ub. leave, allow 287''^ ;
laisse 2 sg. imperat. 69.
lande s. heath 478.
las -se weary, unhappy 122,
298, 571, 814 ;alas 315*323*
519*.
laaté s. lassitude, weariness 500*.
leal adj. loyal 68.
Itiier s.m. hire, reward 660*.
lum s. clay 2*.
Mail s. mallet, hammer 483.
main s.f. hand 150, 429 ; estre
sor mai fis be at hand 918.
maindre -vb. remain 84, 85.
maire adJ. greater, greatest
829.
malsnlee s.f. liousehold 8 5 S*.
maistrle s.f. mastcry, dominion
445-
GLOSSARY
69
27:
mal -e adj. evil, wicked
322, 327, etc.
maleeit -e adj. cursed 346*,
maleïçon î.f. malédiction, curse
426, 544, 737*
malvais adj. wicked, bad 503.
manage s. abode, dwelling-place
100.
manantie s. possession, wealth
62 •
maneir î.m. abode, dwelling-
place 523*.
mangler -vb. eat 177 ; manjues
2 sg. près. ind. 261* ; manjiie
2 sg. imperat. 275, 293.
marchié s. m. bargain 327.
marid s.m. husband 34.
melsme adj. self 658*.
membrer impers, vh. remember
172.
memorie s.f. 347 {see note).
merci s. mercy 722.
merveilles adv. marvellously
931*.
mescine s.f. medicine, remedy
582,
mesfaire -vb. wrong, do wiong ;
mesfis I sg. prêt. 339, 465 ; mes-
Jesis 2 sg. 581 ; mes/ait, mes/et
PP 343, 348, 422, etc.
mesfalt s.m. misdeed 583, 588,
618, 738.
meslee s. strife 362.
mealer "vb. embroil 199, 708.
message s. mcssengcr 922.
mestier s. need 693, 720.
miner, mener -vb. lead, 549, 718.
3+^
mireor s.m. mirror 898*.
mollier, mnllier s.f. wife,
277* 422* 423* 439*.
mond s.m. world 64, 91*, 255,
etc.
mostrer njb. show 726.
moveir --vb. ; mo'veir guère begin
war, strife 6*.
mustrance s.f. présence, favour
589-
Nasclon s.f. nation 767.
neif ;. snow 230.
neïs ad'v. not even 238.
nenil ad-v. no 216, 238, 651.
neporquant adnj. none the less
233, 587-
nestre 'vb. be born 358, 377,
909.
net adj. clean, pure 865. •*
nïent ad<v. not 106, 116*.
noef num. nine 663.
Oblacion s. oblation, ofFering
712.
occire, oscire, ocire, ^ob. kill
364, 690, 697, 705, etc.
od, o prep. with 70*, 194, 199,
etc.
oeT s.m. egg 664.
oeille s. sheep, lamb 467.
ofifrende sf. offering, sacrifice
570, 604, 653, 701, 854.
oi ad'v. to-day 704. ■
oi inteij. cry of anguish or pain
523*» 535-
oïl adv. yes 179, 215.
cil s. eye 307.
70
oïr "vb. hear
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
[26 ; 01 I sg. près.
ind. 170*; ot 3 sg. 241 ; oit
3 sg. prêt. 932 ; orrai i sg. fut.
212, etc. ; oie 3 sg. près. subj.
59 ; oëz 2 pi. imperat. 661,
855 ; 01 -e, p.p. 841, 915.
oisel s. bird 62.
oltrage s.m. outrage, insuit 410.
onc, onques, iinc, unques ad'v.
ever 304, 327* 373* 519*
etc.
oncion s. unction 831, 838.
ore s.f. hour 312, 371, 519.
ort s. m. garden 183.
oscire see occire.
oser 'vb. dare ; os 1 sg. près. ind.
402.
ostel s. house, fold 645.
ot see olr.
otrei s.m. permission 424*.
otreier ajb. grant, permit 666.
ovre s.f. work 843.
ovrer --vb. work 844 (see note).
Pal s. stake 66 (see note),
paltonler s. scoundrel 291.
pan ( = pain) s.m. bread 436.
parais, paradis s. paradise 82,
210, 491, 494, 927.
pareil -le adj. similar, equal 265,
etc.
355-
s. mate, fellow 11, 44*,
pareir -vb. appear, become mani-
fest ; parra 3 sg. fut. 799.
parfont s.m. deep 256.
partir njb. sharc 194; départ
528.
pecchable adj. si nf ul 323.
peccheor s.m. sinner 95, 315*.
peccheriz s.f. sinner 568, 571.
pener -l'b. incur or undergo
punishment 742 (see note),
per s.m., s.f. equal, mate (cf.
Engl. peer) 167, 190, 313, 415.
pemum see prendre.
piz s.m. breast 475.
plain s. plain, field 478.
plaît s.m. contention, litîgation
(cf. Engl. plea) 344, 352.
plasmer 'ub. shape, create 19,
78, 409.
poeir '-vb. be able ; pois, puis 1
sg. près. ind. 115, 148, 578 ;
poe% 2 sg. 51, 140, 194 ; /Oé"/
3 sg- 115» 137 ; poëz 2 pi. 87 ;
poeie I sg. imperf. 570 ; porrai
I sg. fut. 645, etc. ; porras 2
sg. 163 ; porra, purra 3 sg.
98*, 266 ; purrum i pi. 86 ;
porrex. 2 pi. 88 ; poisse, poisset
3 sg. près. subj. 92, 139.
poeir s. power 515.
ï>oësté s.f power, might 75, 194,
250.
poëstif <3£^'. powerful 760*.
poi -e ad'V., adj. little, short 58,
222, 441, 472, 614, 693.
ÎXjrchacier vb. pursue, secure
634*.
porpens ;.;;î. thought, mind 31,
174, 648.
poste;/ situation, position 360*.
pour s. fear 208, 602, 844.
pramettre vb. promise ; pramis
p.p. 757.
pree s. field 671*.
GLOSSARY
preier <vb. pray 122* ; pri i sg.
près. ind. 722 ; prêterai i sg.
fut. 353* ; preom i pi. imperat.
637.
premerain adj. first 592.
prendre "jb. take ; prenge 3 sg.
près. subj. 226 ; pernum i pi.
imperat. 294 ; pernez 2 pi. 498.
près ad'v. near, at hand 689, 917.
prest adj. ready, at hand 294
(see note),
prime, primes ad'v. first 263,
418 (see note).
primice j. first-fruit 604, 712.
privé adj. intimate 699.
priveement ad--v. privately,
secretly 127*.
Provence s.f. proof, évidence
691*.
provendier s.m. one who receives
alms 176*. '
pru s.m. profit, advantage 130,
207, 625.
pucele s.f. virgin 923.
pxildre s.f. dust 477.
pute adj. evil 288.
Querre 'vb. seek, ask ; querreit
3 sg. imperf. 277* ; querras 2
sg. fut. 184 ; querant pres.p.
207.
quidier 'vb. think, believe 168,
175» 415» 443, 577-
Raançon s. ransom 876*.
raison s. claim, due 494, 711.
raïz s.f. root 489, 878.
ras s.m. t 482 (see note).
71
recovrler s.m. recovery, remedy
496*, 526*.
redoté s.m. dotard 895.
regarda intention, thought 271.
reie s. furrow 864*.
relais s. ; a grant relais very
leisurely 678 (see note),
remaindre ^b. remain 663, 704.
repondre 'vb. hide ; repost p.p.
388.
requei s. repose, rest 274*.
requerre njb. request, beseech
522.
rescorre 'vb. rescue ; rescos p.p.
511.
resciis s.m. rescue 317.
retraire njb. withdraw 578 ; re-
proach 560, 564.
retrait s.m. refuge, escape 292,
316.
"revel s. rébellion 626, 724, 820.
rien s.f. thing 286.
rimor s.f. rumour, cry 734*.
rote s.f. Company, gathering (cf.
Engl. rout) 240.
Sablon s.m. sand, ground 704.
sachier 'vb. pull, pluck 482.
sait s.m. jump, leap 802.
salvacion s. salvation 781.
salvaor s.m. saviour 925.
sanz, senz, sen adoj. without
144*, 189, 204, 269, 496, etc.
sapience s. wisdom 157.
saveir 'vb. know 115*, 158 ; sai
I sg. près. ind. 117 ; sez 2 sg.
125^ ï53, 293, 898*; set i%g.
467, 707 ; ioi I sg. prêt. 527 ;
72
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
seus 2 sg. 444 ; sauras z sg.
fut.
'95''
sa'vrat 3 sg. 242 ;
sache 3 sg. près. subj. 237 ;
seUses 2 sg. imperf. 257*.
savor s. savour, taste 252, 303,
305.
scole, escole s.f. school, doctrine
220, 856.
sec -che adj. diTy 850.
secrel s. m. secret 773*.
semblant .;./;;. semblance, like-
ness 4, 407.
semence s.f. seed 433.
sempres ad=v. at once 103, 161,
264.
sen, senz see sanz.
sens s.m. mind, good sensé,
wisdom 32, 173, 234, 531, 896.
serr s.m. servant, slave 405 ; adj.
servile 224*.
sermon s.m. speech, word 51,
640.
servir 'vb. serve 76 ; serf 2 sg.
imperat. 37.
set, sez see sa'veir.
set num. seven 742.
seveals ado;, at least 226*.
socorre, sucurre -jb. succour,
^«elp 334, 522.
socors s. succour 337.
sojor s.m. sojourn 503.
sojomer vb. sojourn, dwell 398.
sol adij. oniy 260.
solaz s. comfort, solace 940.
somondre xi. summon 861.
&OTQ prep., adu. upon 372, 520.
sort s.f fate, lot 104, 318.
sospir ;.;;/. sigh 530.
sot adj. foolish, stupid 171.
soveraln s.m. highest 256.
spee s.f. s word 517.
sperance sf hope 587, 747.
steille see esteille.
studie s. study, endeavour 867.
suduire ojb. seduce 466*.
sufiEraite /. lack 566,
suffrir njb. sufFer, allow 273,
573* ; endure 561.
suor s. sweat 437.
surdre -vb. spring, rise 819.
Talent s.m. will, désire 16, 116.
talon s.m. heel 481.
tart ad'V. ; ço est a tart it is too
late 530.
taster 'vb. taste 304.
tempter ^vb. tempt 751 ; sound,
ascertain the depth 332.
tençon s. strife, dispute 22, 609.
teste s.f. head 483, 656.
tolir vb. remove 200 ; toits 2 sg.
prêt. 537 ; toUît p.p. 392.
ter s.m. turn, course ; al chief
del tor finally 504*.
tomer -vb. turn 420 ; torner a
justise impute as righteousness
756.
train s.m. company, society 487.
traîner -ub. drag 475.
traire njb. draw 235 ; trara^
trarra 3 sg. fut. 338, 782, 875,
926 ; traie 3 sg. subj. 352* ;
trait 1^.^. 377-
trait s.m. trace 350.
traître, traïtor s.m. traitor m,
204, 280, 281.
GLOSSARY
trauagre s. tribute, toll 464 (see
note).
travail s. travail, pain 484*.
travailler, se 'vb. grieve 533.
trencixier njb. eut, carve 850.
trespas s.m. trespass, transgres-
sion 418.
trespassement s.m. trespass,
transgression 143.
trespasser 'vb. trespass, break
142, 403, 408, 412.
trestut/ro«. ail 310.
trlstor s. sadness 633.
U adv. where 387*, 427*, 531*,
673*, 723, etc. ; conj. or 728*,
884*, etc.
ues s.m. importance 63*.
uissor sf. wife 322. "^
unor, honors.fl honour 207, 880.
unques acin;. ever 327*, etc.
Val s. Valley 230 ; mettre a 'val
precipitate, hurl down 376.
veer 'vb. refuse, forbid 168.
veelr 'vb. see 283*, 402*, 524* ;
'vei I sg. près. ind. 397*, 448* ;
'vei'x. 2 sg. 151'*; njï i sg. prêt.
221, 519, 933 ; 'verrai fut.
122, etc. j 'veant pres.p. 307 ;
'veû p.p. 893.
veeir s.m. sight 260*.
veie s.f. vv^ay, path 518* 863'>^.
veintre 'vb. conquer ; -veintra
3 sg. fut. 759.
73
veir i. truth 135, 525*.
vengement s.m. vengeance 800.
venir <vb. ; mal <venu unwelcome,
dejected 448.
verai adj. true 715.
verge s.f. rod, scion 775, 777,
879, 908.
vergier s. orchard 524.
vergoine, verguine s. shame 94,
399-
vergugnier 'vb. feel ashamed
396*.
vermeil -le adj. red 818.
vertu s. power, miracle 931.
vïaire s. opinion 551.
viande ;./. méat, food 477.
vilainnie s.f. villainy 560.
vlrge s.f. virgin 919, 920, 923.
vivre 'vb. live 420* ; 'vtf i sg.
près. ind. 113.
vois I sg. près. ind. of aler go
207.
voleir njb. wish, will j njoil 1 sg.
près. ind. 59, 100, etc. ; 'volSy
'voels 2Sg. 27*, 198, 199, 697 ;
'voelt 3 sg. 225 j voloms i pi.
601, etc. ; 'voleit 3 sg. imperf.
278 ; 'vois I sg. prêt. 753*,
755*; njolst 3 sg. 289 ; 'voldrai,
etc. fut. 42, etc. ; 'vaille 3 sg.
près. subj. 636.
volonté s.f. will 27, 76, 79, etc.
volentiers ad'v. willingly 624.
Ymage see imagerie.
INDEX
Abel, xix
Abraham and IsaaCy xv
actors, xvii, xxii, xxviii, 5 1
ad, xlvii
Adam, xviii
Adam de la Halle, li
Adam de Suel, xxxi
adjective, xlviii
adjutoire, 47
aienz, xxxvi
aime, xlvi
ambedeus, xxxviii
Anglo-Norman spellings, xxxv-
xxxix
article, xlviii
asaer, xxxvii
avéras, xxxvi
avrad, xlvii
Balaam, xiv, xv, xxi
beal, xlvi
Bestiaire, 1, 63
beveras, xxxvi
Bodel, Jean, li
Boe've de Hauntone, xxxvii, 62
bonaûrté, xli
brudlee, xlviii
Caesura, liv
Cain, xix
ceals, xli, xlvi
chaite, xxxvi
Chester Plays, xxviii, xxix
choir, xxiv
comfort, xlv
Computus, 1, Ivi
Concordia Regularis, xi
conjugation, xxxiii, xlix, 1; con-
fusion of conjugations, xxxviii,
xlix j of persons, xxxiii, 1 j of
tenses, xxxix
conustrai, xlii
Cen'vi'vium Herodisy xvi
Corpus Christi procession, xxvi
Co'ventry Corpus Christi Plajys,
xxii
cuer, 47, 54
cum, cume, Iv
Dampne deu, xlvi
Daniel, drama of, xv, xxiii
declension, xxxiii, xlviii
defens, xl
défier, 54
devils, xvi, xxi, xxv
Digby Mysteries, xxii
dimes, xlviii
Distichs ofCato, xxxi
Dit des quinze signes dujugement,
xix, xxxi, 58
drama, mediaeval ; comic élé-
ment in, xiv, xvi, xxi ; English
drama, xxvi, xxviii ; expansion
of religious drama, xxvi ;
language of, xxii ; origin of,
xi ; transitional or semi -
liturgical drama, xxi
duses, xxxvi
El, ele, xxxvi, Iv
emfanz, xlvi
emfern, xlv
enjambement, Iv
enoit, xliii
ensi, xxxix
entent, 49, 53
Épître farcie de Saint Etienne,
xxxii
i Eve, xviii
Feast of Pools, xiv, xvi
Festum Asinorum, xiv, xv, xxi,
INDEX
75
fiel, xxxvi
foc, foUC, XXXV
frai, fras, xxxvi
fraiture, xxxv
friczion, xxxv
froit, xliv
future tense, xxxix, xliii
Gardein, 49
glorie, 53
Greban, Arnoul, xxviiî, li, 52
Hiatus, Iv
Hilarius, xv, xxii
Imagene, 47
imperative, xlix
indicative, imperfect, li ; présent,
xlv, xlix-1
Isaac and Rebecca^ xv
Jacob and £sau, xv
Jean Michel, xxviii
Jordan Fantosme, Ivi
Laon Drama, xiv
Latin in mediaeval drama, xxii
limo, xxxv, 47
Ludus Co--uentriae, xxviii, 54
Ludus super iconia Sancti Nicolai,
xxii
lui, xxxviii
Maïme, xxxvii, xlviii
malait, maleit, xxxvi
marid, xlvii
memorie, 51
Mercadé, xxviii
mesler, xlviii
Miracle de Sardenay, xxxii
miracle-plays, xxi ; cycles, xxviii
Miracles de Notre Dame, li
Mistére du Fiel Testament^ xxvii,
li
mond, xlvii
morphology, xlviii-li
Munich Nati'vity Play, xx, xxvii
Mystère a Adam, author, xvii,
xviii, Ivii-lviii ; characters,
xviii-xix j date, Ivi-lvii ; édi-
tions, xxix, 59-61 ; incom-
plète, xix - xxi ; language,
xxii, xxxii-li ; lessons, xvii,
xxi ; liturgical character, xxi ;
manuscript, xxix-xxxii ; ori-
gin and sources, xi-xix, Ivi ;
place in évolution of the
religious drama, xix-xxix j
stage, xxiv-xxvi ; time of
performance, xxi ; versifica-
tion {qt'V.)
Mystère de la passion, xxviii, li, 52
mysteries, xxi, xxviii
Ne, 53
noit, xliii
noun, xxxvii
Octa'vian and the Sibyl, xvi,
xxix
oi, xliii
onc, onques, Iv
oncor, Iv
or, ore, Iv
ovec, xxxix
ovre, xliii
Pageants, xxvi
pal, 48
par, 48
paraïs, paradis, xli, xlvii
Passion of St. Andrenv, xxxvi,
xxxvii, liv
passion-plays, xxviii
pecchor, xxxvi
Philippe de Thaun, 1, Ivi, 62
phonology, xxxv-xxxviii, xl-
76
LE MYSTÈRE d'aDAM
xlviii j vowels, xl-xliv ; con-
sonants, xliv-xlviii
pité, xxxvii
Poème de la Passion^ liv
poetifs, xlviii
pois, xliii
poisse, xliii
pople, xlii
pren, xlvii
procession of prophets, xiii, xxi,
xxix, 55
pronoun, xlix
prove, xlii
Provençal spellings, xxxv
pussance, xlii
Queil, 51
Siuinxe signes du jugement (see
under Dit)
Ras, 52
Regensburg Drama, xxvii
respon, xlvii
Résurrection - play, Anglo -
Norman, xxii, li ; Latin, xxx
Rouen Prophets (see Festum
Asinorum)
Rouen Nativity, xxvii
Rustebeuf, li
St. Martial of Limoges Prophets,
xiii, XX, xxiii, 57
salvaor, xli
satan, xix
saveras, xxxvi
scole, xlii
sen, xlvii
Septuagint, 57
Sermon, pseudo - Augustinian,
xii-xin, xvii, 55-57
serrad, xlvii
sevals, xxxv, xlvi
Sibyl, XX, xxvii
spee, xlii
sperance, xlii
Sponsus of Limoges, xvi, xxii
stage, xxiii-xxvi ; fixed, xxvi ;
movable {see pageants)
steille, xlii
studie, xlii
subjunctive présent, 1
substantive, xlviii
Suscitatio Lazari, xxii
Tarzera, xxxv
toen, xliii
toit, xliv
Tours MS., xxix-xxxii, xxxiv
Tonvnelej/ Plays, xv
traûage, xli
tropes, xi-xii, xxi, li
tuer, 55
Valenciennes MS., xxvi
verb {see conjugation)
versification, li-lv ; decasyllabic
verse, lii, liv-lv, 49, 52 ; octo-
syllabic verse, li, lii-liv
Fie de la Vierge Marie, xxxi
Vie de Sainte Marguerite, xxxi
Vie de Saint George, xxxi
Vie de Saint Léger, liv
Vie du pape Gre'goire le Grand,
xxxi
Wace, xxxi, xxxii
Wakefield Plays, xxviii
York Plays, xxviii, xxix
Lowe & Brydone Printers Ltd., London, N.W.l.
PQ 1345 .A2 1918 SMC
Adam (Mystery)
Le mystère d'Adam 47076256
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11